Waning Crescent
by mrscullen93
Summary: Renesmee is now fully grown and has fallen for Jacob. After one special night of professing his love, everything between then will forever be changed. Enters a surprise guest. Will their love survive the storm? Or will it crash against the waves?
1. The Beginning

Prologue

What is a girl to do when she has the most bizarre life, filled with nothing but what others would call fairytales? Vampires? Werewolves? Hybrids? Yeah, my life has it all! Oh, by the way, my name is Renesmee. Yes, I'm the daughter of Edward and Bella. I'm sure you've heard their story, but now I have my own story! What do you do when you have a werewolf that has imprinted on you? And also a dashing hybrid like me, vying for your attention? Well, you're about to find out!

Chapter One

So, I guess I should start from the beginning. I'm sure you know about the very beginning of my life. It was also the most dramatic part of my parents' lives too. It's been seven years now since our run-in with the Volturi. Yes, I am now fully grown! At least, I think so. It's still hard for my parents to wrap their head around the fact that their little girl that was born only seven years ago is now seventeen. Now, I'm starting to attend school with them when we start over in a new place. Weird, right? Whoever thought a teenager would be in high school with her parents? But, this is the life I live; being a half vampire/half human hybrid has its ups and downs. We just moved to Seattle to start over. My grandparents, Carlisle and Esme, stayed behind in Forks for a little longer. We weren't sure Forks would be ready for a new addition to the Cullen family. Moving to Seattle has given us a chance to start over unknown, but yet stay near Carlisle and Esme. Jacob and his pack came with us, as did Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett, Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper. All twelve of us now live together right outside of town in a house very similar to our home in Forks.

This next school year we will all be enrolling in West Seattle High School. Grandmee and Grandpa Carlisle are coming soon to visit and enrolling us using our cover story. As far as the rest of the world will know, we are his adopted kids from different deceased family members and friends. We have all been with them since a very young age and do not remember much about our lives before them. (Great way to cut down on having to come up with other parents' names when asked "Who were your real parents?".) Pretty good cover, huh? Well, my mother saw right through it, but we're hoping that doesn't happen again. Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Sue (Yes, they finally married!) are coming to cover for Jacob, Seth, and Leah.

Now that we have covered that, let's get on to the real story.

I guess it all started the first day we moved here, which was about 2 months ago….


	2. Disturbing News

Chapter Two

We had just arrived at the new house about 2 o'clock. I jumped out of Aunt Rosalie's BMW as soon as we stopped in front of the house and headed straight upstairs to the bedrooms to find my room. I took a glance at each one; they were all pre-decorated thanks to Grandmee, Aunt Alice and Aunt Rosalie. They really have a knack from design and also built my parent's cottage that we lived in until now. Before we had left home, Grandmee told me to try to pick which room had been designed for me and promised that I would love it. As I came to the last room, I opened the door to find a small room painted turquoise with a loveseat and a large T.V.; was this the room Grandmee meant? Suddenly Aunt Alice appeared behind me. "What do you think?" she asked, as she walk into the room and twirled around. "Well' it's nice. A bed would really help though, since I do happen to need sleep." I replied sarcastically. "I'm guessing you haven't seen the rest!" Alice giggled. Okay, what is she talking about? "The rest?" I responded, wrinkling my nose. Aunt Alice giggled again and gracefully walked to the other side of the room. There she opened another door and walked in. As I followed her, I knew at once that this was the room for me! "Aunt Alice! It's…it's…WOW!", I gasped. "I guessing you like it?" she laughed. "Like it? More like LOVE it!" I exclaimed. I looked around the room and was in awe of my surroundings. The room was painted an amazing deep red and covered in the latest in modern paintings. The king-size bed was placed in the center of the room and was topped with the most beautiful yellow, red, and brown bedding. My mouth gaped as I slowly looked around the room again. "So does she like it?" I turned around to find Aunt Rosalie standing behind me. "I believed she does!" Aunt Alice beamed. A threw my arms around both of them at once. "Thank you! I adore it! Never have I seen a room more beautiful than this!" I was still completely enthralled by the room. "Don't thank us! We only helped! Esme completely designed it herself" Aunt Rosalie informed me. I would definitely have to give Grandmee a call soon!

I ran downstairs afterwards to help finish unloading the cars, only to find that they were done. As I walked into the living room, I noticed Seth on the floor, already installing the T.V. and gaming systems. He really needs a new hobby. Back in Forks, he was always over at Grandmee's playing the WII with Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jasper.

"Can't go a few hours without it, can you Seth?" I said as I sat down on the couch behind him. "Your uncles promised we would settle the score once and for all at who was better at Halo 3 and Madden '09!" he said, not taking his eyes off all the cords he was untangling. I laughed and shook my head as I thought of all the days they spent in front of the T.V., either playing a game or watching some kind of sport.

Just as I was standing up to go find Mom, Dad walked in with a huge grin on his face and his phone at his ear.

"Okay, Friday sounds great! See you then!", he said before ending the call. I quickly ran to catch up to him as he jogged into the kitchen calling my mom. I walked in as he had just finished telling her the part of the conversation I had not heard and tried to ask who was coming, but Mom continued to interrupt me with her questions full of excitement. "What time will they be here?" "So he's coming with them?" "Oh, I must send Alice and Rosalie to finish buying the things we need for the kitchen! They never got around to completely decorating it." I don't think my dad even had a chance to respond to any of her questions as she rambled. "Calm down, my love. I'm sure you three can finish in time and it will be perfect." he laughed "Now, they said they should all arrive around 3 0'cl…" "Will someone _please_ tell me who is coming at 3 o'clock on Friday?" I interrupted. They turned to face me and their expression told me that they had only just realized I was even standing in the room. "Your Grandmee and Grandpa Carlisle are coming!" she exclaimed "And right before they called, Nahuel had dropped in for a visit and decided to join them. He said he has missed you so!". As the excitement hit me, I realized why my parents were so ecstatic! My grandpare….Nahuel?! Why was he coming? I thought he hated me now! The last time he visited us, we had a disagreement on our feelings for each other. He came to "profess his love to me" (Yeah, that's _exactly_ how he put it.) but I told him I was still confused on how I felt about him. We had always talked about beginning in a relationship because we were both hybrids. Would our relationships with other guys/girls work out because of it? Or would we only be compatible with each other? I talked to grandpa Carlisle several times on the subject, but our hybrid mix still intrigues him. He has yet to find the answer to our questions. Nahuel believed that we could only function with each other, but I believed otherwise. At first I started to agree with his theories, but as he continued to make up excuses, my intuition that I received from my mom saw right through them and realized they were only advances. "Nahuel?" I laughed "You're kidding me, right?" I seriously hoped they were only joking with me. "No, sweetheart, he really is coming!" my dad beamed "Now I know you two have not been on the best of terms since the last time he visited, but I'm sure you can see past that while he's here so both of you can have a good time. He has probably already forgotten about the quarrel you two had." Ha! I highly doubted that! With the punched I threw him last time when he tried to kiss me, I'm sure he'll never forget it! I have a really strong left hook without using my vampire strength; but with it, I'm unbeatable, according to Uncle Jasper. With the look my dad gave me, I was sure no matter how much I pleaded, he would not send Nahuel home once he got here. I rolled my eyes as I slowly turned to leave. "Oh Nessie, sweetie, if you see your aunts, tell them to please come see me in the kitchen. We have a lot of work to do!" my mom called after me. "Sure, Mom." I replied. Now was one of the times I was glad I was not design-savvy; it would be nothing but trouble being in the middle of three women with a deadline.

Just as I rounded the corner exiting the kitchen, I bumped into Jacob. "Oh! Sorry, Nessie! Are you okay?" What? Did he say something to me? As I gazed up at him, all the rushes and butterflies returned once again. Oh yeah, did I mention I recently realized I have the slightest of a crush on Jacob? Before, I always tried to pass it off as the beginnings of the flu, but really, how many times can you get the flu in a week? "Nessie? Hello! Earth to Renesmee!" Jacob laughed. "Huh? Wha..?' I suddenly came out of my dreamy state "Oh! Yeah! I'm fine! Why? Are you not fine? Did I hurt you when I bumped into you? Oh, I'm so sorry Jake! Are you okay?!" I rambled. "I'm just fine, Nessie" he laughed "Even if it was you who bumped into me, I'm almost positive you wouldn't hurt me." "Oh, right." I blushed. Why did he have this effect on me? Ever since I was old enough to hear about him imprinting on me, this has started happening. "So, um, I was wondering" Jacob said as he glanced around the room as if he was checking to see if we were alone "After everyone gets settled in do you think you might want to.."


	3. Questions

Chapter Three

_Yes! Oh, Jacob of course we can go out tonight! What will I wear? Well, what do you wear on your first date with a werewolf? Actually, a first date period! I will definitely have to recruit Aunt Alice and Aunt Rosalie for this one. Oh, great! And I'm sure you're hearing every bit of this, huh Dad? _ "go….ask your parents if they wanted to go hunting tonight? I'm really craving some white-tailed deer. I wonder if they have them around here?" Did he seriously just back out on asking me out tonight? No, no I'm sure he was planning to ask that question from the start. Or was he? He did seem kind of fidgety when he started asking the question. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Sounds great! Right now I need to go find my aunts for my mom, but we'll talk later, okay?" I ran upstairs as fast as I could before I let myself start freaking out. Slamming my door, I ran to the loveseat and sat down while going over in my head what just happened downstairs. "Okay, Nessie. Just because he imprinted on you, doesn't mean he has to love you that way. Mom told you this when you first found out about it. So if he was truly planning to say exactly what he said, then he must not feel the way I thought he did and the way that I do. But what if he does feel that way? Was he afraid to ask? But why would he really be afraid of me? No, that's not it. He must really not feel that way." My thoughts were disturbed when a heard something that sounded like someone trying to stifle a laugh. I turned around to see that both Aunt Alice and Aunt Rosalie were still standing in my room. "I knew it! What did I tell you, Rose? I told you she liked him!" Aunt Alice giggled. How would she know that? I guess it kind of had to do with the fact that I had just about had a break-down over him right in front of them; but wait, didn't she just say she knew it? How is that possible? I skimmed my most recent memories, trying to remember if I had told her and just forgot. No, I never told her! "How did you know?" I decided to ask. "You should see your face every time you look at him! Your expression changes and it's almost like you have entered a dream world with only him and you. Apparently, that is exactly what happens!" Aunt Alice laughed. "So what happened? Ever since Alice figured out that you love him, she has been dying for that day to get here that he would finally start to feel the same way. You better tell her before she strangles it out of you." Aunt Rosalie rolled her eyes. Aunt Alice stuck out her tongue as I laughed and shook my head at the two of them. "I think I better just let you see what happened. I might accidentally leave something out." I said while placing one hand on each of their cheeks. As I pulled my hand away, they both looked at me with confused expressions. "I don't understand? Why would he want all of us with you on you first date?" Aunt Alice was so oblivious sometimes. "He didn't ask me, and that's what I'm confused about. I really thought he felt the same way. After all those stolen glances…" I trailed off as I remembered some of the times we shared secrets smiles. _Will he ever see me as more that just the little girl he imprinted on and helped raise? Will there ever be a Renesmee and Jacob? _


	4. Home Alone

Chapter Four

After Aunt Alice and Aunt Rosalie left my room, I suddenly felt tired from the drive to Seattle. I decided to take a nap before asking Mom and Dad about going hunting later. As I drifted off, I started to dream about my encounter with Jacob from earlier. But this time the outcome was different…

"_So Renesmee, my darling, are you up for a movie tonight?" he asked as I tried my hardest not to blush. "Oh, of course! What girl wouldn't be up for that?" I giggled softly with a sly look. _

Suddenly my dream flashed to a scene on the beach. Is Seattle even anywhere near a beach?

"_Oh that was just the scariest movie, Jake! Why did you talk me into watching that?" I said as I replayed the gruesome scenes in my head. "I loved seeing your expressions throughout the movie" he laughed "I also enjoyed it when you would try to hide behind my shoulder on the scariest parts, which was just about the whole movie!" We continued to walk along the beach till we came to a beautiful spot that gave an amazing view of the sunset, and sat down. After a while I began to feel tired, and there I fell asleep in his arms._

When I awoke, I could still feel the grin that played on my lips. As I glanced at the clock on my night table, I noticed it was already 7 o'clock. I jumped out of bed and dashed down the stairs, calling Mom and Dad the entire time. When I received no response, I walked to the kitchen. On the counter was a note from my dad:

Dear Princess,

Everyone decided while you were sleeping to go hunting. We were going to wake you, but you looked so peaceful I told them to not bother. Leah agreed to take you out again later for you to do some hunting. We should be back no later that eight o'clock. Hope you slept well.

Be Safe,

Dad

_Be Safe._ My dad's famous last words.

What am I supposed to do for another hour?


	5. Circumstances

Chapter Five

I woke up the next day with Leah yelling in my ear. "Renesmee Carlie Cullen! Get up! Get up! I thought we were supposed to go hunting last night? That ride must have really tired you out yesterday. Didn't bother me one bit!" What the heck is she doing yelling at me at…what time was it? I glanced at the clock and noticed it was 7:30 in the morning… this time about going _hunting?_ As I started to completely wake up, I finally noticed I was in my bedroom. How did I get here? The last thing I remembered was watching a few reruns on…. "What am I doing in my room? I don't remember ever coming to bed last night!" I asked with a confused look. "Jacob carried you upstairs when he found you on the couch. The kid didn't have the heart to wake you; said you look so peaceful and serene when you were asleep." she said, shaking her head "Me and Emmett wanted to shove you off the couch to see how you would react but that's when your dad and Jacob came in and…well as you can see we didn't do it."

Leah finally left my room where I could get dressed after we talked about all that had happened while they were out hunting. They had found a ton of deer and actually a few bears too. I'm hoping they left a few big ones for me because I sure am starving by now. When was the last time I fed? It had been awhile. Lately I had been surviving on human food (not my favorite!), trying to prepare for when school started and I wouldn't have as much time to go out hunting.

Once I was dressed, I went downstairs to find everyone. Jacob, Seth, and Leah were all sitting at the table eating breakfast when I walked in the kitchen. "Hey, Sleepyhead! You finally up?" Seth joked. I decided to just ignore him as I walked over to Mom who was standing over the stove cooking my breakfast. "What are you cooking, Mom?" I asked, looking over into the skillet. "Omelets, sweetie" she smiled "You like omelets don't you?" "Love 'em! I'm starved so make two for me!" I replied as I hugged her good morning. "Did you sleep well?" I nodded as she continued "I'm sorry we didn't wake you to go hunting. But we knew you were probably tired from the long trip so we let you sleep." I grabbed a plate from the cabinet as she was finishing my last omelet.

"Thanks, Mom. They were great!" I said once I was finished. She really can cook! She is no where near as good as Grandmee, but I would never tell her that. The four of us at the table had finished breakfast in silence, which was strange for us. Both Seth and Jacob had already left the table once Leah and I had finished. "Okay, what's up with them? I asked as we walked out of the kitchen "They are never that quiet!" "You haven't heard yet?" Leah laughed. I shook my head. "Your dad was reading Jacob's mind last night while we were out hunting. Apparently the two of you had an awkward moment yesterday." _Dad! Why? _I mentally asked him. "What happened last night?" I asked. "Well, it appears that Jacob happened to be thinking about it and he was completely mad with himself for sounding like a fool. Once your dad heard that, he grabbed Jacob by the ear and dragged him farther into the forest, just the two of them. Everyone thinks he gave him the speech of his life, you know, the whole "stay away from my daughter" one." she laughed "But only me and Seth know what really happened, since we were all in wolf form at the time. It was Eddie's best job yet!" Why me? Why did I have to have a dad that read minds? Why couldn't I just be a normal human? Why couldn't Jacob and I just have a normal relationship? "So what did Jacob do?" I questioned. "Absolutely nothing!" she gawked "He never had a chance! Eddie gave the entire speech without stopping for a breath, which I guess really wouldn't be necessary anyway, or even giving Jacob a chance to faze back to human form and explain." Oh God, I'm definitely going to kill my dad now! "But I think they finally settled it all out once Edward calmed down and Jacob fazed back." she continued "But still, it was hilarious the expression Jacob was wearing when they finally came back out of the woods. Never in my life have I seen Jacob so red!"

When we made it into the living room, everyone except dad was watching Uncle Jasper, Uncle Emmett, and Seth play their games. They were so into the game that they were all leaning into each turn or movement they made. I guess Seth finally got to settle that score, I thought to myself. From the look he had on his face, Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jasper had already won, but I decided to ask anyway. "I totally nailed him at Halo 3 and Jasper's football player gave Seth's the tackle of his life on Madden '09!" he laughed deviously. I glanced over and Aunt Alice and Aunt Rosalie before I left to find Dad. I could tell they would much rather be somewhere else.

I finally found Dad in his study, which consisted of a grand piano in the middle of the room and couch to one side. He had one just like it at Grandpa Carlisle's and used it when he needed to think. He was softly playing a song that I recognized as one he wrote for my mom not long after they had met when I walked in the door. As I listened to him play, my anger that had building up slowly started to slip away.

Wait. No. I had to confront him about this. He could not treat my Jacob that way. Whoa! My Jacob? Where did that come from? Oh well.

"Dad, we seriously have to talk!" I growled as I walked over to stand beside the piano.


	6. Confronting and Confussion

Chapter Six

"I know, I heard your message." he smirked. _Yeah, and everything else I said too, _I thought. "Yes, I'm sorry about that, too" he said "Look, Nessie, I can expl.." "No, Dad, I think I need to do the talking." I inhaled a deep breath and blew out, trying to calm my nerves so I could think.

"Dad, I know you still think of me as your little girl, but I have done some drastic growing up recently. I know you love me and you only do the things you do because you don't want me to get into something _you_ feel I'm not ready for. But, Dad, I _know_ that I'm ready to start having the feelings that a normal 17-year old should have." I was finally started to calm down. He sat there silently, so I decided to continue. "To answer the question that I know you really want to ask me; Yes, I am beginning to fall for Jacob. But you're never going to give us a chance. I'm asking you… no, I'm begging you, _please_ lay off of Jacob! He knows how you feel about the situation and that is probably the reason he did what he did yesterday."

_Wow! I can't believe I just said that to my Dad?! _ "I can't either" he smiled "that was very brave of you to come to me like you did. I see now that how you chose your words wisely shows that you have very much grown up." He stood up from the piano and embraced me in a tight hug. "And yes, I will _try _to loosen my grip on Jacob. I can't promise I won't have my momentary lapses where I seriously feel liking killing him, but you're my Princess; I'm just a very protective dad." He shrugged. "Thanks, Dad. That really means a _lot_" I said sarcastically. As he sat back down at the piano, I started to feel my tension ease. _I'm glad we talked about this_, I told him mentally. "Me, too" he responded aloud. I gave him a soft smile before leaving.

I headed back up to my room to finishing getting ready, so Leah could take me hunting later. When I got to my door, Jacob has in the hall leaning against the wall. "Hey, Jake! What's up?" I grinned. He pushed himself off the wall and gave me a small smile. _Wow I never noticed his distinctive smile! I mean, of course I always thought he had a great smile, but there's something different about this one; I've never seen it before. _After everything that has been happening with Dad,I really have to start monitoring what I say in my head! I suddenly remembered as I glanced at him what my dad told me a girl once said mentally about Jacob; He was just like a piece of steak: juicy, tough, and _hot_! "Hey, Ness. I talked to Leah and she asked if I could go with the two of you hunting again." he said. _Hey, Dad. I know you're there. If you see Leah, tell her I said Thank You Thank You Thank You!!_ I laughed as I gave my dad the silently message. "What's so funny?" Jacob asked with a confused look. "Oh nothing, never mind. But your going hunting with me.. I mean us? That's great! I just have to change my clothes and I'll be ready to go." I said as I opened my door. "Okay, we'll leave as soon as Leah gets back. She went to scout out a few places to make sure there weren't any humans around." I nodded to him as I went into my room. "Oh and Renesmee, about yesterday" he started "I just wanted to tell that I…..I..I'm sorry you didn't get to go with the group hunting. We really found some great animals!" he fidgeted as he finished his sentence. When is he ever going to quit changing his mind at the last minute?! He stood there a few second longer with the expression that he wanted to say more, but instead he turned and walked down the hall to his room. And guys think us girls are complicated?! I shook my head as I closed the door and slumped over to the loveseat. He definitely had to be the most confusing guy I had ever met.


	7. Overheard Answers

Chapter Seven

After a quick change into my oldest pair of sweats, which really aren't that old considering that Aunt Alice lets no one wear an outfit more that three or four times, I ran downstairs to check if Leah was home yet. She was just walking in the door as I made it to the bottom of the stairs. "Okay, no humans; we're ready to go!" I quickly glanced around the room to see if Jacob had come down yet, but he was no where in sight. "Okay, Leah, I'm ready. Just let me go back upstairs and get Jake." I said as I turned.

As I walked down the hall, I could see that Jacob's door was partially open. From where I stood, I could see him sitting on his bed, staring down at his hands with a pained look in his eyes. Times like these I really wish I had my dad's mind-reading ability. I walked closer to the door, stopping right before reaching it. I could hear him softly murmuring to himself. "Okay, Jacob. What is wrong with you? You know you're in love with her. Why can't you just tell _her_ that? Quit acting like a complete fool and get some guts!" I suddenly had the feeling that my heart could burst out of my chest at any moment. I stood there a few minutes longer, just listening to him talk. Hearing the sound of his voice made my stomach twist with butterflies and excitement; this was definitely a feeling I could get used to!

"Will you two _please_ get down here so we can go?" Leah yelled "I know I'm not technically getting older here, but I'm definitely not getting younger!" I rolled my eyes. Leah was the most impatient person I had ever known. I glanced back at Jacob and suddenly noticed that he was staring straight at me. I smiled weakly as I began to blush. "Leah's ready. We better go before she yells any louder and wakes the dead." We both laughed at my joke. I could tell after being caught, that this was really going to be an awkward afternoon.

*******************

As we reached the woods in silence, Leah ducked behind some bushes to faze. I could suddenly feel the awkward tension return as Jacob and I stood waiting on her. "So,um, how are you liking it here in Seattle so far?" Jacob said. "Well, I really haven't had a chance to see the city yet; but as far as woods go, these are pretty nice," I laughed. "Listen, Nessie, I really need to talk to…" he started before glancing off into the woods. Leah was once again joining us, but this time as her wolf form. "Okay, well I guess I should go do the same," Jacob said before running behind the bushes. "What do I do, Leah?" I said once he was out of hearing distance "He hasn't talk to me about our relationship yet! I think he was about to before you came back. Do you think I should bring it up later myself?" As I sat down on the grass, Leah walked over to me and laid her head in my lap. The look in her eyes told me we would talk about it later, since Jacob was now returning in his wolf form also. While we were hunting, the day seemed to progress slower than usual. I had decided to explain everything to Leah once we returned home and let her voice her opinion on the subject of me and Jacob; I already knew she would definitely have something to say about it. Not only was Leah the most impatient person I knew, she was also the most opinionated. When we finally started home, I had only one thing on my mind.

_What exactly am I going to say to him?_


	8. True Feelings

Chapter Eight

That night after we had quickly changed into pajamas, Leah walked into my room. Sitting on my bed, I began to explain to her how I had been falling in love with Jacob since I had physically turned seventeen. After the recap, I told her about what I heard from Jacob today outside his bedroom, her eyes growing wider with each piece of information.

"So now I'm not sure what I should do. Do I talk to him; or do I wait for him to come to me?" I asked her as I stood to gather the millions of pillows off my bed. Aunt Alice had told me she had chosen them all just for me; sometimes she really has a tendency to _over_ decorate. "So let me see if I understand this right; you are in love with "Alpha male"; He's also in love with you, but he can't put the darn words together to tell _you _that." I nodded. "There's not much I can tell you, considering that I have not experienced that kind of situation myself. But I guess I should know Jake better than anyone, since we stay inside each others heads so much. I'd say give him a little longer to get the guts to tell you himself. If "Alpha male" don't make his move soon, then you can make it for him." I was really glad I had talked to Leah about this. Anyone else would have still been stunned about me falling for him. I thanked Leah for her help as she stood to leave. "Anytime, Ness, anytime!" she said as she closed the door.

********************

Later that night, I was suddenly awakened by a knock at my door. "Nessie?" I could recognize his voice even this late at night. I glance at my clock; it was 3:30. "Jacob? What are you doing up this late?" "I think we really need to talk." he said as he came into my room. "I think so too. Listen, Jake I.." "No Ness, I need to say this first." he began as he sat down beside me "For the past seven years, I have loved you from the very beginning. As you grew older, our bond became even stronger. The day you stopped aging…. things started to change for me. I still loved you as I always had, just with a different kind of love." He slowly lifted his eyes to meet mine. At that moment, my love for him grew even deeper. "And I have been trying to tell you this for the past two days, thinking that as we start a new life in a new place, we could start something else new, too."

I slowly lifted my hand and placed it on his cheek. _I love you too, Jacob._ Once again, he gave me his small, soft smile. "So I guessing you might say yes to a movie or dinner with me tomorrow night?" I gave him a look that said I was thinking hard as I was deciding, trying my hardest not to smile or laugh with joy. "I think I might possibly be available. But, Jake, you do know that it would actually be tonight, right? It is already 3:40." I giggled quietly. Slowly he bent down towards me. As I closed my eyes and our lips met, I knew then that this was right. This was how it was supposed to be. Jacob and Renesmee. Renesmee and Jacob. Forever and always. "Don't go." I said as we began to pull apart. Once he had slipped his arms around me, I laid my head on his chest. There I stayed the rest of the night.

The next morning, I again awoke with a smile on my face as I did the day of the dream. But this time, I was smiling because of something that had really happened. As I rolled over to face Jacob, my smile grew even wider. "Good morning, Sweetheart! Did you sleep well?" he said before leaning down to kiss me once again. "Perfect." I answered.


	9. The Unwelcome Visitor

Chapter Nine

When we finally decided to head downstairs, Jacob stopped me at the door. He leaned down to kiss me once more and whispered in my ear. "I think you might need to go first and I'll follow you in a few minutes." I nodded as he gave me my favorite smile of his and walked to his room.

Once I had reached the kitchen, I noticed Seth and Leah at the table, trying to suppress a laugh. I glanced at my mom, who was doing the same while she was cooking. As she turned to face me, I could tell she noticed the confused look on my face. "You forget sometimes that vampires and werewolves have an amazing hearing sense." She said, trying her hardest not to laugh. I blushed as I realized what they knew.

Suddenly my dad appeared by my mom, giving me a tight smile. "I'm trying, Sweetie, I really am." He said. I rolled my eyes. Leah and Seth could not contain their laughter any longer as they suddenly burst into roars and snorts. "I have _got_ to congratulate Jake on his choice of words!" Seth said, trying to catch his breath "Dynamite comedy! He should really try stand-up!" I decided that this was way more than I could take and turned to go. "What, honey, we're sorry, aren't we kids?" my mom said, glaring at Seth. Actually, more like trying to look like she was glaring at Seth. She was still trying not to do the same as they had. "Now, Nessie, I'm sure you're hungry so what would you—" "No thanks, Mom." I stopped her "I not really hungry this morning." I said as I finally left the kitchen.

Once in the living room, I saw Uncle Emmett lounging on the couch watching a football game. "There she goes! The girl of the hour! Did you have fun last night? Or were you just talking in you sleep again? If so, you do a perfect imitation of Alpha Wolf!" he laughed. "Yeah, where is hound dog, anyway?" I turned to see Aunt Rosalie walking into the room. I rolled my eyes at Aunt Rosalie. She and Jacob never really got off to a good start. I don't even think they use each others real names that often. It's always Blondie and hound dog. I laughed to myself as I remembered some of the crazy jokes they pulled on one another. "He should be down soon. We didn't expect everyone to know already, so we decided to come down separately." _A lot of good that did, though, _I thought.

********************

Later that day as Aunt Alice and I were upstairs getting me ready, I could not contain my excitement. "Hurry, Aunt Alice! I don't want to have him waiting too long! What if he decides that I take to long to get ready and cancels on me? Oh No, Aunt Alice please hurry!" by this time, I was on edge. "Be still, Renesmee or I will never have your make-up finished! Rose, I'm going to need some help in here!" Suddenly Aunt Rosalie was behind me, holding me down. I huffed as I slumped my shoulders under her strong hands.

"Okay, all finished!" Aunt Alice said as Aunt Rose finally loosened her grip. "Thanks, both of you!" I yelled as I ran downstairs to meet Jacob. After he greeted me with a kiss, we walked to the door. As he opened the door, I was suddenly staring into the eyes of someone I had once called a close friend. I tightened my grip on Jacob's hand as I realized who was standing in front of me. "Hello Nessie, darling! Long time, no see!" Never in my life have I ever thought such horrible things as I did at this moment.


	10. Murmurings

Chapter Ten

As I stood there, staring into the eyes of Nahuel, my hatred for him once again resurfaced. Suddenly, a million questions bombarded my mind. _What in God's name is _he_ doing here? _ _Wasn't he supposed to be coming tomorrow? And why is he acting like we are lifelong friends who didn't have a fall out about a year ago? _As the anger and tension grew inside of me, my grip on Jacob's hand became even tighter. It was a good thing he was as strong and indestructible as he was; I would have surely crushed any normal human's hand by now.

"What are you doing here?" I said through gritted teeth "You are not supposed to be here until tomorrow when my grandparents arrive!" With a sly smile he said, "I decided I would come a day early and surprise you. This way, we have a few more hours to spend together." As if just realizing that he was stopping us from leaving, he continued. "Oh, was I interrupting something? Were the two of you leaving for….a date?" he said with visible sarcasm. "Oh I am dreadfully sorry for the intrusion. I will just go see how Edward and Bella are doing." With that, he passed by us swiftly, murmuring something that incidentally sounded as if he said "there goes my chances". What? I had to have heard him wrong. Did I?

I turned to Jacob who had been silent through the whole ordeal. Looking at him, I could tell he was just as upset as I was about Nahuel's early appearance here. "It's okay, Jacob. Let's just go and forget that he's even here." I said, trying my best to sooth him "We have a date tonight, don't we?" With that, he gave me a huge grin. "Yes, we do." he said before softly kissing me. I would never get tired of those!

***************

That night after dinner at a wonderful restaurant and a movie, (I will have to go back again to see it; not much time was spent watching the screen...) we returned home. I laughed to myself as I thought of the kind of date a human would have. The guy would walk her to the door and give her a goodnight kiss. But in our situation, he would walk right in, without the parents even thinking twice about their daughter's date coming inside the house. As I sat there in Jacob's car, I began to remember the amazing time I had that night. As we got out the car and headed to the front door, I could feel the tension from before return. "He's still here, isn't he?" Jacob said curtly. "Yes. Hold on and I'll let Dad know we're home. Maybe he can help us bypass him." I said as I began to mentally send my dad a message. _Hey Dad can you hear me? Listen, we're back, but can you do something with Nahuel till we get upstairs? If Jacob sees him after what happened earlier, we might have trouble on our hands. _ We will most definitely have trouble if I see him, too I add silently to myself. I could see my dad through the kitchen window as we came closer to house. He glanced our way and gave us a quick nod before leading Nahuel at the back door. Apparently he was going to show him something in the garage.

Once in the door, we quickly ran up the stairs undetected. "I'm going to have to remember to thank Edward for that later." Jacob said, finally giving me a smile. I laughed as we walked into my room. After he sat down on the loveseat, I grabbed the remote and jumped into his lap. Once the T.V. was on, we never glanced at it again.


	11. Questionable Feelings

Chapter Eleven

"I really need to go to my room, Nessie." Jacob said as he pulled away from my kiss "Edward is probably already probing both ours minds to find out what's going on." I had to agree, that really sounded like something my dad would do. I nodded as I reluctantly crawled off his lap. As we walked to the door, I could already feel that the separation would be painful for both of us. "Good night, sweetheart." Jacob said, leaning down to kiss me again. "Goodnight." I replied with a pout. "Hey, don't be like that. You know how it kills me to see you upset." he said, staring deeply into my eyes. I knew then I was a goner. His eyes followed his hands down my shoulder as he pulled me close. "Till tomorrow then, my love?" he laughed "Wow, I really just sounded like Edward that time. It must be a love thing." After one last kiss, he was gone.

After Jacob left my room, I was still giddy from the night I had just had. Flashes from the amazing time we spent together ran through my head. It was definitely a night I would never forget. I quickly took a shower and slipped into my pajamas. I returned to the loveseat, finally sitting down to watch a few minutes of late night sitcom reruns before bed.

As I stood to head into my bedroom, I heard a soft knock at the door. I suddenly had a shrill rush of butterflies as I thought of Jacob. "I knew you'd be back!" I said as I opened the door. My smile automatically faded as I noticed who was standing outside my door. It was not Jacob at all, but rather quite the opposite.

"Hello, Renesmee!" Nahuel smiled. I tried to slam the door, but his hand swiftly caught it. "Now don't be like that, Ness." he said. My expression was one of pure revulsion. Why did he think he could even come up here to see me? I still did not understand his new way towards me. I had assumed he would not bother me during his stay. Was I ever wrong. "Look, can we talk?" he said, turning serious. "I don't have anything to say to you." I replied curtly. As I tried again to shut the door, I succeeded; yet he had somehow passed the closing door and was now standing in the middle of my sitting area. "Please leave." I said, trying my best to be polite. "Renesmee, just let me talk to you for a moment. I'm sure we can get passed all of this if only you would allow me a few minutes of your time." I had told Dad that I would try to get past what happened. I guess now was as good a time as any to get started.

"Okay. Fine. Sit." I said as I walked back over to the loveseat. As he took his seat, he turned to face me. "I know we did not leave each other on the best of terms last time," he began "but I am ready to see past all of that. I want us to have the friendship we once had before we bombarded our minds with all of those questions about compatibility." My tension lessened as he continued to speak. Not entirely go away, but still it decreased. "I am too, Nahuel, but _can _we go back to that? Are you sure you can take not being with me in that manner?" "I believe I can try for the sake of our friendship." he smiled. It was hard not to give him a smile back, and I failed considerably.

"I'm glad we finally talked this out." he said as he rose and walked towards to door. "Me too." I replied, joining him. "Goodnight, Renesmee. Sleep well!" he said as the door closed behind him.

I leaned back against the door and smiled. I was really glad we had that talk. We now could continue on as we had before. Before all the questions. Before all the feelings. As I stood there, I began to reminisce of times me and Nahuel spent together on his visits to Forks. He had been there for me as I quickly progressed from childhood to adulthood in only a few short years. He told me of his life as a hybrid and what I would face later in life. My heart suddenly began to race as I remember the time he tried to kiss me on his last visit. There had been a momentary lapse in time between our lips meeting and my slap. For just a moment, I had enjoyed it. I smiled as I remembered the feeling of his lips against mine; but my face was suddenly filled with a look of horror. Did I really just think that of Nahuel?


	12. Warm Welcome

Chapter Twelve

The next day I woke up with the same thing on my mind: Nahuel. How could I let myself feel like this? I loved Jacob and no one else. I had absolutely no feelings for Nahuel. But yet, why did I have the same feelings around Nahuel last night as I do around Jacob? Where were the butterflies coming from? And the racing heart? And what about the way that I couldn't stop smiling? Am I really in love with both of them?

I slowly tried to unwrapped myself from the covers of my bed. I must have had a really bad night. I was really tangled in them, almost making it impossible to get out. I finally had myself unraveled and walked downstairs; I could smell mom cooking in the kitchen. No, that wasn't Mom's omelets I could smell. I sniffed the air and smelled the distinctive smell of that special seasoning I had grown to love on my omelets back in Forks: a hint of deer blood. "Grandmee!" I yelled as I raced into the kitchen. Once there, I threw my arms around Grandmee who was at the stove. "Smelled the omelets, didn't you?" she laughed as she hugged me back. "Of course! I have always told you I could pick them out anywhere! No one can make them like you!" I smiled "So when did you get here? Is Grandpa Carlisle here? I really want to see him!" "To answer your questions: very early this morning, and yes, he's in the study with you dad." she replied.

After the omelets were finished, I sat down to eat the two she had prepared for me. As I was starting on the second, Jacob walked in and sat down by me, giving me that special smile. All of the rushes, butterflies, and emotions suddenly flooded me again. "Good morning, My Nessie! Sleep well?" he said before leaning down to kiss me on the tip of my nose. "Like a baby." I lied. I could never tell him what really happened last night. It had taken me forever to go to sleep. After what happened with Nahuel, sleep did not come easy. I decided to put what happened last night behind me, continue to be friends with Nahuel, and only love Jacob. He was who I was meant to be with. Only him. Again, the rushes, butterflies, and emotions returned; only this time, much more prominent. I tried my best to slow my heartbeat so I could eat, but it was useless; nothing could stop it now!

Later that day, Jacob, Grandpa Carlisle, Grandmee, Mom, Dad, and I decided to take an exciting tour of Seattle. Jacob and I had been into the city the day of our date, but we had no idea that Seattle was so big; we had only visited one side that day! We visited a few museums first; my grandparents and Dad love art. Except for a few modern painters, I had not really shared their interest. I suddenly remembered that I still had not told Grandmee how much I loved my new room. "Oh Grandmee, I completely forget to tell you how I truly loved the room! It's amazing! How you got the amazing idea for it, I will never know!" I said as I placed my arms around her shoulders. "I was wondering what you had thought!" she laughed "You hadn't mentioned it since we got here, so I was starting to worry that you did not like it." I gave her a squeezed "Never, Grandmee! I absolutely love it! It's perfect for me!" "I'm glad you like it." she said.

Next, we went to Pioneer Square for a few hours. Since the zoos were not a good choice, since no one had fed in a few days, we decided to head home.

When we reached the living room, Jacob and I said goodnight to everyone and headed upstairs. "Hey kids! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" yelled Uncle Emmett who was sitting on the couch watching a baseball game. _That should give us plenty of options then_, I thought. _Oops! Sorry Dad!_ I could hear my dad talking quietly to himself. "It was only a joke. Only a joke. You promised her, so calm down." I laughed quietly as I shook my head. At least he's trying.

As we reached my room, I could feel Jacob's hand tense under my fingers. "What's wrong, Jake?" I said. I glanced up at him, trying to see what he was looking at. I followed his gaze as it landed on my partially open door. Sitting on my couch watching T.V. was Nahuel. Why?! This was exactly what I needed right now; A boyfriend that hated my friend and a friend in my room when I needed him out, but yet I couldn't kick him out. I had promised my parents I would let Nahuel have a good time on his trip, but it was so hard to keep that promise when all I wanted right now was to be alone with Jacob.

Once we reached my door, Nahuel glanced up and saw us. "Oh! Hey, guys! Nessie, I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your T.V.; your uncle had the one downstairs occupied and I'm not to big on sporting events." he said "Would you like to join me? I'm just flipping through some soaps I had missed that you had happened to have TiVo'd. Isn't that funny, Nessie, darling? We have the exact same taste in shows! I have known you for seven years and I never knew we had so much in common!" he glanced up at Jacob at that time, noticing his hard expression. "Oh, um I think I heard Bella call for my help." he lied "Be right there Bella!" He walked past both of us with a sullen expression. I again heard him mumble something as I had the first day. This time, it sounded as if he said "Perfect timing, Nahuel, perfect timing". Could this week get anymore confusing?


	13. Head Over Heart

Chapter 13

After Nahuel left, I led Jacob into my room. We sat down on the loveseat; I could tell that he was still fuming from seeing who my dad said Jacob secretly called the "Dead-Alive Monster." I tried to lean over to kiss him, but he was as stiff as a board, unmoving.

"Jacob, what's wrong?" I finally asked. "I heard what he said as he left. And what he said when he first got here." he answered, staring straight ahead "He's still in love with you, ya know? I heard him last night in here after I left." "What? Jacob, no. He doesn't..." "He lied to you Renesmee." he interrupted, but finally faced me "He can't stand the fact that we are together. He only told you what he did so that you could be around him without feeling uncomfortable." "Jake, no, he meant what he…" Again, he interrupted me "He only wants that one chance alone with you, but he can only have that chance if you're willing enough to be in the same room with him. He's faking the friendship to make it seem like he's not the "Dead-Alive Monster" that he is!" I could no longer stand being interrupted "Jacob Black, you forget that I'm a "Dead-Alive Monster", as you call it, as well! Do you secretly call _me_ that, too?" "No, Nessie! Of course not! I love…" It was my turn to stop him. "No, you don't love me! If you did, you could accept what I am and what Nahuel is and that he is my friend. He was there for me when you couldn't understand what I was going through or when you couldn't be with me." By this time, I couldn't hold my emotions in any longer as the tears started to fall. "Renesmee, please! It's not like that. Please don't cry! You know it kills me to see you cry." Only because I'm your stupid "imprint", I thought. He tried to pull me against him, but I shrugged away from his arms. "Nessie, come on. Don't be like this! You know I love you more than anything! You are my life now! Always have been, actually!" He stood and kneeled in front of me, gazing into my eyes. "I love you, Renesmee, don't you know that?" I looked away. Looking at him only made it harder to say what I needed to say. "If you love me and I'm your life," I began "Then why can't you except the fact that Nahuel is _part_ of my life?" I looked back at him, which only made more tears fall. "I just don't know if I can be with someone who can't live peacefully with the other people in my life."

I was now crying so hard that I couldn't talk anymore. "So what are you saying? Are we just giving in to him? Giving him what he wants? Is that how you plan to solve all your problems in life? Just give in to them?" Jacob said, with a hurt expression "Ness, we're meant to be together! We're each others destiny!" I shook my head "I'm sorry, Jake." I managed to say through the tears. "Yeah, I'm sorry too." he said, his voice sounding strained as he stood and walked out the door.

I couldn't believe what had just happened. Did I really just break-up with one guy I was truly meant to be with? But yet, maybe if something this simple could shatter us, what would have happened if it was something bigger? If this happened so easily, were we really ever meant to be?

I could no longer take this day. I walked into my bedroom and glanced at the clock. 8:53. I crawled in to bed, full dressed. As I lay there, the tears continued to stream down my cheeks and onto my pillow.

In the middle of my sobs and cries, I heard a knock at my door. I didn't answer; maybe who ever it was would think I was sleeping and wouldn't bother me. Instead, the visitor slightly opened the door. "Hey, Nessie, can I come in?" the person said "Are you okay? What happened?" I didn't answer as the person sat down on my bed and pulled me against their chest. I had no idea who it was, since I had yet to open my eyes; but I didn't care as long as it wasn't Jacob Black.

The visitor slowly laid me down on my pillow again and lay down behind me. After a few more tears, I tried my best to get some rest. I had suddenly felt a wave of peace once the person was beside me. It was a feeling as if I would be okay; that I could make it through the night. About an hour later, I fell into a deep sleep.

*******************

The next morning, I awoke feeling terrible. I suddenly remembered my visitor from last night, as I turned to see who it was. When I had rolled over, I came face to face with……………..No one.


	14. Last Night's Stranger

Chapter Fourteen

Wait, didn't someone come in my room last night? I had felt them pull me into their chest and lay down beside me as I fell asleep, but through the tears and the darkness I couldn't make out the person's face. I was still disoriented from my horrible night as I crawled out of bed and slowly walked downstairs.

When I reached the living room, Jacob was sitting on the couch, watching reruns of a show the two of us used to watch a few years ago. "Hey, Jacob." I said cautiously as I sat down at the other end of the couch. "Hey." he replied curtly. After a few minutes of complete silence, Jacob stood and left the room, heading back towards his room.

How I wished last night had never happened. I wish I hadn't gone off on Jacob like I had. I wish I had never had those crazy feelings after the conversation with Nahuel. I wish mostly that Nahuel had never come here; a lot of things would have never happened. And I would still be with Jacob right now. Right where I should be.

As I stood to go into the kitchen, Seth came down the stairs. "Hey, Seth. I haven't seen you around here much. You seem to be keeping to yourself a lot. What's up?"

He turned red as I finished and looked at his feet. "Nothing really, I've just been busy. Been spending some time in town. Making friends; you know, just stuff." he continued to look at his feet as he spoke. "Okay, Seth, I know you're not telling me something so you might as well not try to hide it. What's really up?" I tried to get him to look up at me. Finally he raised his head. "Okay, well I haven't told anyone yet, not even Jacob or Leah. So don't say anything, okay? You promise before I tell you?" He stuck out his hand and I shook it. "Yes I promise." I nodded. "Okay, well see I've been spending time with a friend. Who's a girl. So I guess she's kinda...well... my girlfriend." he said. "I don't understand. That's great news! You got yourself a girlfriend! Why wouldn't you want Jacob and Leah to know? Afraid they will pick on you too much? You know as well as anybody that you deserve it after all you've pestered them about." I laughed. "Well that's not the part I'm worried to tell them about. The think is, I imprinted on her. I have no idea what happened to me! I was in the park one day, cruising around on my skateboard. I wasn't watching where I was going. I had my I Pod in. Then I ran into the girl and when I looked at her to apologize… well, this crazy feeling came over me and I knew that I couldn't let her leave. That I had to be near her forever or it would kill me! So I asked for her number and we've started hanging out. It happened on Tuesday, so I've been spending time with her ever since." I had no idea what to say. I was still confused at why he did not want to tell the rest of the pack. "But that's great Seth! Why don't you want the others to know you've imprinted? Don't you think they'd be glad?" He gave me a look as if he was confused about why I didn't understand. "Don't you see, Ren? This girl, her name is Jaylen Peters, she's human! They would freak! You know how they hate telling humans about all of us! They would hate the fact that I imprinted on her."

I felt sorry for him at that moment. More sorry for him than I was for myself. He had the one he loved. He could be with her. The only thing holding him back was someone else's pride.

I suddenly felt guilty again for saying the things I said to Jacob last night. I let my pride get in the way. I had let my head rule my heart. My mom always told me I got that one flaw from my dad. She had told me many times about how he was always afraid to be with her; he was always saying that it was unsafe to be with a vampire when she was still a human. She would also tell me that from that one flaw came one great attribute: selflessness.

"Seth, if you really want to want to be with her, and I'm sure you do, considering that she is you're imprint, you shouldn't let them stand in your way. I can talk to Leah after you've told her, and try to convince her to let you do what you need to do." I smiled. "Thanks, Nessie! Do you think you could talk to Jake, too? He's who I'm the most afraid of. I can take Leah. But Jacob…Will he's a pretty big wolf!" he laughed slightly as his lips curled up on one side.

No one knew yet that Jacob and I weren't together, unless Dad had read our minds.

"Um, Seth. I don't think I can do that. You see, Jacob and I, we…" I was interrupted by Jacob himself yelling for Seth. "Ren, please do this for me. I'd really owe you one!" he said as he ran off to find Jacob.

I knew this would definitely be a tough assignment.

Leah, I could handle.

But Jacob…my _heart_ couldn't handle that one.


	15. Helpful Advice

Chapter Fifteen

Later that day, Seth found me and explained that he had talked to Leah and Jacob. Neither time had gone too well. Jacob ran out and fazed with Seth close behind as they talked mentally to each other. Seth finally gave up on explaining and came back inside the house after fazing back. With Leah, well she actually threw a few curling irons out of her bathroom at him. As he told me about Leah's meltdown, I tried my hardest not to laugh and agreed to go see her now.

When I reached Leah's door, I knocked softly with no answer. "Leah? Are you in there?" I asked. She opened the door. "Oh. Hey Ness I thought it was Seth again. Have you heard what happened yet?" I nodded. "Actually he told me about it earlier. He seemed really afraid to tell you and Jacob." She backed away from the door as I walked in and sat down on the end of her bed. "What is it that worries you about him imprinting on a human?" She sat down in a chair across the room and looked down at her hands. "Is that what he said I would hate about him imprinting?" I nodded again. "Well, I guess it's not really that. I'm so happy for him, even if she is a human.

"I…well… he imprinted…before me. I'm the oldest and I still haven't found anyone yet. Do you think there's something wrong with me, Nessie?" she said as she looked up at me, tears beginning to form in her eyes. I walked over to her and knelt beside her chair. "No Leah, there is nothing wrong with you! What would make you have a crazy idea like that? You will find that perfect guy one day! You'll get that crazy feeling that Seth had with Jaylen and that Jacob had with…me." I whispered the last word. I could tell she heard the sad tone in my voice as I said the last words. "Look at me!" she laughed "here I am, crying over nothing when you obviously have something you need to tell me. Spill it Ness." I looked at her and began to mirror her expression of sadness. "Oh Leah. I should never have said those things! I hate myself! Why did I let myself feel that way? I ruined us! I ripped apart my forever and always!" I cried as I laid my head in her lap.

"First of all, slow down. And second, what are you talking about? What did you say? And to whom?" She looked at me, concern filling her face. I began to tell her about what happened the night before with Jacob. She had always been someone I felt I could tell anything to. She was always their when I needed a shoulder to lean on. My best friend.

"The worst part is he won't even speak to me! And I'm supposed to talk to him for Seth like I talked to you. How am I ever going to do it? It will kill both of us!" I said as the tears fell down my cheeks. Leah, always gentle and caring, leaned down and wiped the tears from my face. I had always told her that one day she would make a wonderful mother. "Nessie, you have to talk to him. You can't let yourself act like this. I hate to see Jake if he feels anything like you do, and I'm sure he does." she took my face in her hands softly "Listen to me, Nessie. He loves you. More that anything. The world, the moon, the stars; they're pointless to him if you are not with him. You have to talk to him. For the both of you. You are meant to be together. He's your forever and always. I know you know that. If he won't listen, you have to make him listen. Use your vampire strength if you have to. Just do anything to make him talk to you. It's all up to you now, Nessie." I hugged her before standing and walking to the door. I turned back to her once more before leaving. "Thanks, Leah. Wow. I came in here to help you, but I guess you helped me instead." I laughed through my tears. "Anytime, Nessie, anytime." she said as I closed the door.

I knew now what I had to do.

What I need to do.

I had to talk to Jacob. I had to talk to him now before I lost the strength.

I walked down the hall to his door and knocked. No answer. I knocked once more, before turning to leave.

After only taking a few steps, his door opened. "What is it, Ness?" he said.

I couldn't let the tears fall. I wouldn't let my emotions run away from me again. Once again, though, my heart took over. It was in pain and couldn't hold them in. This was something that didn't happen often, but lately things were different.

"Jacob!" I whispered as I ran back to him.


	16. Reconciliation

Chapter Sixteen

As I threw my arms around him, I knew that's where they were meant to be. "Nessie, stop." Jacob said as he gently pulled my arms away. "Jacob, we need to talk. Can I please come in for just a second? Please just listen to what I have to say." he took a deep breathe and looked down at me. I could tell then as I looked into his eyes he was in as much pain as I was. "Fine." he said as he walked back inside his room. I followed behind him, being careful not to let myself reach out and pull him to me again.

I sat down on his bed and tried to compose myself; which was basically an impossible job at the moment.

He sat down on the couch across from the bed. "Okay, Ness. What is it?" he said, leaning back and crossing his arms. I still had no idea what exactly to say to him. In my rush to keep my confidence, I had forgotten to think of something to say.

So, I started with the first thing that came to mind. "How's Seattle so far?" he gave me a confused look. "You came here to ask me how I like Seattle?" I decided to just go straight the truth. "No, not really I was just trying to start the conversation. Jacob, about last night," I started "What I said, I didn't mean any of it. I only wanted you and Nahuel to get along. He came to me that night and said he wanted to reconcile. I said okay because I had promised Dad that I would put aside our previous differences so that he could have a nice time while he was here.

I was just frustrated and confused when I lashed out at you. I took out my feelings and emotions on you, which I shouldn't have done. Jacob, I really do love you and I know you love me. Will you please say something? Interrupt me? Anything!" he continued to just sit and stare past me at the wall. "Please, Jake. It's not supposed to be like this. It's supposed to be you and me. ALWAYS AND FOREVER! Don't you remember anything? The past few days I shared with you were the best days of my life! I want more than anything to have those times back!" I could feel the tears that still streamed down my face.

Finally, he looked at me. I could tell the separation and time had had the same effect on him as it had on me.

Without a word, he stood and crossed the room, sitting down on the bed beside me. He pulled me close to him and kissed my forehead. "Nessie, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting towards you. I love you more than anything! Can you please forgive me for doing this to you?" I was stunned. How could he ever think he had done something to me? I was the one that had basically attacked his heart with my harsh words. "Jacob, I can't forgive you." he pulled me away and looked at me "There's nothing to forgive! I was the one that deserved this! All the pain, all the suffering; everything! I _should_ have to feel it!" I said through the tears that now soaked his shirt. He lifted my chin so that our eyes met. "Don't ever say anything like that again, Renesmee Cullen. You do not deserve any form of pain or suffering!" he said before leaning down to kiss me softly on the lips.

I could feel my heart bursting inside my chest as our kiss intensified. He pull me as close to him as possible; no space was between our bodies.

All too quick, the kiss ended. Well, I guess I should say kisses. One led to another and…well you should understand.

As we pulled away, my tears continued to flow, but this time they were tears of joy. I finally had my forever and always.

"Promise you'll stay with me this time, Nessie. I don't think I could handle all that pain again. Not only do I hurt when you're not around because you are my imprint…It also hurts because I love you so much. Please promise me that, Renesmee."

I knew that this was a promise that I could definitely keep.

Nothing could make me leave him again.

He was my life, my all, my world, my entire being.

"I promise."

*******************************

Before leaving, I suddenly remembered the main reason I had come to talk to Jacob.

"Oh, Jake. We really need to talk about one more thing."

"If this has anything to do with Nahuel, I promise I will not overreact again like I did last night. I'm sorry about that." he said.

"Well, that's great to know, but that's not what we need to discuss. This is about Seth." I looked at him for a reaction to my words. He looked at me expressionless.

"So what exactly are you're opinions on him imprinting?" I said.

"It's not him imprinting that I'm worried about. I'm glad that he imprinted. He always thought that it was weird the attachment I felt to you when you were born. Now he can experience it himself."

"But what is it that you're worried about then? I know that something must be wrong or you wouldn't have fazed when he told you."

"It's the fact that she's a human. I just don't know how we can handle that." he looked down at his hands and sighed deeply.

"But I'm part human and you imprinted on me. Are you saying there's a problem in doing that?" I laughed.

"No, of course not, Ness. It's not exactly the human part., really. It's the fact that we'll have to tell another unsuspecting person about us. I hate having to ruin lives by telling them what we all are."

"Jacob, if she really loves Seth, I'm sure she will be able to handle it. It may take her a while to get used to it, but I think that over time it won't be so bad. I also think we should wait and see what happens before we start running off and saying "Hey, Jaylen. Guess what? Your boyfriend is a werewolf. So is his sister and best friend. They're all in a pack together. Oh, yea and by the way, he lives in a house full of vampire." You see?"

Jacob nodded. "Okay, well I really think you should go talk to Seth and tell him all this. He was really worried that you would pull the "Wrath of the Werewolf" on him and kill him or something." I laughed.

Thinks were finally back to the way they were supposed to be.

I would say back to normal, but with a group like mine, nothing is ever normal.

I kissed Jacob once more (okay maybe a few times more) before heading to the door.

"See you at supper later?" I turned back and said.

"Deer, bear, or rabbit?"

"Everything!"


	17. My Heart's Desire

Chapter Seventeen

Once we had returned from the hunting trip, we all gathered in the living room. This was the first time in a while that we had all been together except when we were hunting or watching the guys play video games. The only ones not present were Seth and Leah; Seth had decided it was time for Leah to officially meet Jaylen.

I could tell by the exciting look that Aunt Alice continued to give me that something was up. She looked really excited, but sometimes that doesn't always mean a good thing for everyone else. We had all settled down in our seats; Mom, Dad, and Aunt Alice on the couch with Uncle Jasper on the floor beside her, Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rosalie stood behind them, and Grandpa Carlisle and Grandmee and Nahuel were all settled on the love seat. Jacob had sat down in one of the arm chairs with me in his lap.

As I continued to be suspicious of Aunt Alice, I glanced at my dad, who had a smug expression.

"Okay, Aunt Alice, give. What's up? I know now that you had a vision and you're trying to hide it, but failing miserably." I said, with my eyebrows raised.

"What makes you think I had a vision? And why would you assume I'm hiding something? Nessie, honey, aren't I allowed to be happy?" She forced a laugh.

"Yes, you are. You're always happy…but this time…It's a little over the top." the curiosity was killing me now!

"Well, Nessie, I hope you enjoy disappointment because I have no idea what you are talking about. I haven't had to visions out of the ordinary, so stop worrying!" she giggled.

We all sat talking for about an hour before each couple started branching off to their own areas, beginning with Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rosalie (as always.), followed by my grandparents.

I felt Jacob nudge me in my side, which made me giggle.

"What is it, Jacob?" he looked at me with a strange, yet happy, expression.

"Let's go upstairs, wanna?"

I nodded before jumping off his lap.

Once we reached the top of the stairs, I faced Jacob.

"My room or yours?" I asked.

"How about mine this time?" he said, with a devious smile.

That smile had become one of my favorites, also; I loved what always followed them.

As we walked into his room, he leaned down and kissed me; this one was more passionate that ever before. It felt as if he had reached deep down into my soul and discovered my deepest desire: Him.

He led me over to his bed, which I tumbled over onto. Even though I was a vampire, my human half had given me my mother's old clumsiness. I laughed as he fell over on me; apparently he wasn't as coordinated himself. Our passionate emotions consumed us as his lips grazed down to my neck. We had made a promise to ourselves to wait to have sex. This decision was not only made by us, but also my father. I'm sure you know all about that.

His kisses continued down my neck, and detoured off to my shoulders. I had never had such a longing for him to be so near as I did at this moment.

"Renesmee, can I ask you something?" he said as he unwillingly pulled his lips from mine.

"Anything." I whispered.

He arose from the bed and walked over to the desk on the other side of the room and lifted the roll-top from it. I could tell that he was opening a compartment, but what he was extracting from it was a mystery. He then slid the small object into the pocket of his pants.

Slowly, he walked back over to me where I had lifted myself from the bed and was now sitting on the edge.

"Renesmee, you know I love you," he started "and I have always loved you. But lately, that love has become deeper than ever before. The passions and emotions that I never knew I was capable of or even had, you have made them arise inside of me. Never have I felt this way about anyone. Nessie, you are my world, my stars, my sky, my whole life! You mean everything to me. When I imprinted on you, I had no idea that anything like this would come from it.

Renesmee, I want to know that I will always have you with me. I was in a lost state when we weren't together. I don't know if I could ever survive that again. So with being said," he looked up at me before continuing, as we pulled the small box from his pocket.

I knew then what it was. Inside that box was what I had longed to have. But never had I imagined it coming from him. That was the best surprise of all.

He continued as the tears began to fall down my cheeks.

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen, I promise to love you forever; every single day of forever. Will you marry me?"

The tears that fell willingly from my eyes almost made me unable to speak.

Only one word was I able to let fall from my lips.

"Yes." I whispered.


	18. Making Plans

Chapter Eighteen

The days that I awoke with Jacob beside me, those were the days I awoke with a smile.

This was definitely one of those days.

I lifted my left hand and gazed at the ring that now inhabited my third finger. The silver ring held a single diamond with smaller diamonds around the sides.

It was a lot like I had imagined my engagement ring would be.

I smiled as I began to replay in my mind the amazing thing that took place in that very room only last night.

"_Renesmee Carlie Cullen, I promise to love you forever; every single day of forever. Will you marry me?"_

"Yes." I whispered again, audibly to myself.

"You said that last night." Jacob laughed beside me. I had no idea he was already awake. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" I said. "No worries. Hearing that word from your lips again just makes me that much happier that I was awake so that I could hear it." he smiled and leaned over to kiss me softly on the lips. But with our kisses, they hardly ever ended as they had begun.

"Think they know yet?" I said as I stood, heading for the door to go to my room. As soon as I said those words, I could tell I had just asked a crazy question. This must have been what Aunt Alice was so excited about and why Dad was so glum. I laughed to myself as I remembered their expressions.

Jacob gave me a look as if to say "Did you seriously just as me that?". I laughed as I answered my own question. "I'm guessing probably so, with a physic and a mind reader in the house."

I walked out of his room into the hall. I had started to my room when I heard a squeal then a bellowing voice.

"RENESMEE CARLIE CULLEN! GET DOWN TO MY ROOM QUICKLY!!!" there was only one person that high-pitched but yet feisty voice could belong to: Aunt Alice.

I rolled my eyes as I made my way down the hall to her room. When I entered, her, Mom, Aunt Rosalie, Grandmee, and Leah were all there. I glanced over at the bed where everyone except my mom and Leah were. The rest were all piled one the bed, pouring over what appeared to be bridal magazines. I groaned as I remembered that I was related to three of the biggest party planners ever; mortal or immortal.

"I'm sorry, honey, but you know them. They just can't resist a chance to plan a party." my mom said, walking over to put her arms on my shoulders. "I am so happy for you, Nessie! I always thought Jacob was a part of my family somehow, but having him as a son-in-law…"she laughed "well, that was an unexpected, yet wonderful, surprise!"

"Thanks, Mom." I said as a hugged her. Leah walked over to join us with a half grin as she looked at the three of them on the bed as if they were three teenage girls planning their dream weddings. However, when she glanced over to me, her smile grew wider.

"AAHH! Nessie! Congrats, girl, congrats!" she said as she pulled me into a tight embrace. "What did I tell you? You give "Alpha Male" his space and he comes running!"

I laughed as I thought about the long discussions Leah and I had about Jacob.

"Well, seeing that you're so excited about it and considering the fact that if it wasn't for you this probably would never have happened, or at least not for a long time," I looked at her, taking in her excited expression. I would hardly tell her she looked like Aunt Alice in a decoration store, even if it was true. "would you consider being my maid-of-honor?"

She remained speechless for a moment, but suddenly squealed as I covered my ears. Even half vampires have extremely sensitive hearing. "Yes! Yes! Of course I will!" she pulled me into a hug once again.

Suddenly her smile flattered a little. "This means I have to go through all those fittings with you and Alice, doesn't it?" I nodded, trying not to laugh.

Once again, though, she was all smiles. "Oh, well. I guess it will be worth it this once! I mean, how many times do you get to be maid-of-honor at your best friend's wedding? I'm hoping only once, because all those weddings must get tiring. How many times have you and Emmett been married, Rosalie?"

"Seven. One every ten years." she responded without lifting her head from the magazine she was engrossed in.

"Dang! That's a lot of weddings! Anyway, you better get over there if you want to have some input in your own wedding. I think they've covered colors and design. I'm pretty sure they've moved on to the dress now." she said before saying goodbye and leaving the room.

I shook my head as headed into the war zone.

"Okay, Ness. I was thinking a spring wedding with freesia and sweet pea flowers! Possibly outside, depending on the sun. Pale pink and a soft green color. And the dress: modified off-the-shoulder A-line chiffon overlay gown with a beaded broach and gathers at the bust line and straps. Kind of a Grecian Goddess appeal. Or maybe an empire waisted, chiffon off-the-shoulder gown with beaded spaghetti straps. Cross-over, gathered, high waist bodice with beading. Chiffon gathers falling from the center of the gown. The back is elegant and simple with a sweep train. Kind of a more Victorian style to it. What do you think?" I really had no idea what to say. They both sounded like beautiful dresses, but I hardly had time to process that I was planning my wedding, much less decide on a dress!

Suddenly it all hit me in one giant rush: I was getting married; to Jacob Black, the man I loved; I was sitting here, planning a wedding.

"Oh my gosh! I'm getting married! Next spring!" I squealed as the others laughed and joined in on my excitement.


	19. Experiences

Chapter Nineteen

After leaving Aunt Alice's room, I decided to find Dad; I really needed to talk to him. Mom had told me before she left the room that he was still being vague about the wedding.

As I walked down the hall to the stairs, Mom came out of their bedroom. "Hey, any idea where Dad is?" she nodded, giving me a weary look. "He's in the bedroom. Nessie, he's not sure what he thinks about—"

"Mom, I have to talk to him about it. Maybe I can get him to see my side of the situation." She walked over to me and hugged me. "Well, good luck, then. You're really going to need it." she laughed slightly as she walked downstairs.

I took a deep breathe and exhaled as I walked over to the door and knocked. "Come in, Nessie" As I opened the door and walked in, I could see him sitting in an armchair facing the window.

"Dad, I—" "Nessie, you forget I know what you're about to say. And I have been thinking about what I could say to you. Your Mom and I were just talking about the wedding and how I think you're still too young." He stood from his chair and looked at me.

"Dad I'm not going to get any older! How can I be too young when I'm always going to be this age?"

"Renesmee, you've only been alive for seven years. You haven't had any chances to experience anything yet!"

"Experience anything? Dad, isn't this wedding and marriage going to be an experience? And don't you remember that I will be going to school with all of you in August? That's an experience! And I have been plenty of places and have experienced a lot of things!"

"There is something out there besides what you've seen with us! Since you are half human, that gives you a greater chance of interacting with other humans. Why not make friends?"

"I will be making friends at school in the fall! I'll have friends! And besides I have friends! Like Seth and Leah and the rest of the pack back in Forks!"

"They are part of a world that everyone else believes to be a myth! A story! You need to have friends that when you're around you don't feel like you have to be like them! A chance to live away from this life you have! Friends besides all of us!"

"But I don't need all that! I have all the friends and family that I could ever ask for!"

See the world, then! You're settling for something before you've even seen the rest of your options!"

"So I'm supposed to just be alone basically, except for the options of a few friends, for ninety years and be miserable? Dad, that's you, not me! I have someone that loves me out there and wants to marry me! Why waste my time going everywhere and "experiencing" everything when it won't make me happy? I love Jacob and _he's_ what makes me happy! Are you seriously going to try and take that away from me?"

The tension seemed to grow inside me with each word.

"Nessie, don't you dare—!"

"Do what? Tell you that I want to be happy? I'm sorry, Dad, but that's exactly what I want: Happiness!"

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, something he does when he's frustrated.

"Dad, I can't take this. I love Jacob, and I _am_ going to marry him!" I said as I walked out, slamming the door behind me.

I ran down the hall to my room, passing Nahuel along the way.

"Nessie, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he said when he noticed the tears streaming down my face.

"Nahuel, not now! Just leave me alone, okay?" I said as I walked into my room.

I shut the door behind me and slid down to the floor.

Why couldn't he understand that this is about what Jacob and I want? What we need! This wasn't something he could change be sending me off to "see the world".

What I had told him was the truth, what he needed to hear. What he needed to know. He really thought that he could hold on to his little "princess" longer. He has to realize that I'm not that same girl anymore. I'm someone who's in love. That definitely changes me. It _has_ changed me. More than I even thought possible!

I knew that I would never find anyone else other than Jacob; so why hold back now?

Doesn't the less time we wait, give us more time to grow together later?

Isn't that what marriage is all about? Being together and growing together?

The more I thought of the things that I had said to my dad, I being to feel guilty. I had not meant for my words to be hurtful, disrespectful, or callous. What I said would definitely strain our already tense relationship. He had done what I had asked of him: give the space Jacob and I needed to start a relationship. We getting married so soon had not been part of the bargain.

Had I lost any chance of having my father giving us his blessing and walking me down the aisle?


	20. Mysteries and Forgiveness

Chapter Twenty

The next day, I woke up in my bed. Did I really sleep the entire day? And wait, how did I get in my bed? The last thing I remembered before falling asleep was that I was sitting on the floor by the door…wait someone came into my room.

The vague memory flashed through my mind. I had been crying for what seemed like hours. Someone had softly knocked on my door before entering and kneeling in front of me. They whispered my name, but thought I was asleep. My eyes were glazed over from the tears and whenever I opened them the slightest amount, my vision was too blurry to decide who the stranger was. As the person lifted me into their arms, I rested my head on their chest. They gently laid me on my bed and whispered "I love you, Renesmee." in my ear and kissed my forehead before standing from the bed and leaving.

I had recognized the voice at that time, but now it was all a mystery.

Could last night's visitor have been the same as before?

I shook any crazy thoughts from my head as I crawled from the bed to get dressed.

It had to have been Jacob since the person had told me they loved me. But if it was, why did he leave? Why didn't he stay with me?

I decided to forget about the confusion, and headed downstairs after changing.

As I walked into the living room, I saw Seth and Leah sitting on the couch. Between them a girl I understood to be Jaylen from the description of her by Seth so many times. Her brown hair was curled in soft ringlets that gently surrounded her shoulders and her eyes a piercing blue that reminded me of the ocean near Isle Esme.

"Hey guys!" I said as I walked over to them. "You must be Jaylen. I'm Renesmee; Nessie for short, though." She smiled shyly and nodded. "We decided it was finally time she met everyone!" Seth beamed. It was amazing the effect that imprinting had on him. Very few times had he been with Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jasper playing the Wii or any of the rest of their toys, which was as strange for him.

"So Lee, what are your plans for today?" I said. "Don't think I have any, why?" I nodded as I braced myself for her answer to my next question. "You up for a shopping trip with me and Aun…um..Alice?" I laughed as she groaned, rolling eyes and throwing her head against the back of the couch. "I guess, but not _too _many store, okay?" I looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "Oh yeah, we're going to be with Alice. Okay, sure, why not?" I grinned as I told Leah the time I decided to go and told Jaylen goodbye.

I ran all throughout the house yelling for Aunt Alice, trying my best not to say _Aunt_ Alice, but only Alice because of Jaylen.

I finally found her in the extra room we used for a computer area. As I walked in, I glanced at the computer screen and noticed she was looking at wedding decorations and mad windows minimized for bridal gowns boutiques. I won't even try to pronounce the names of the sites for the shops. They were French, which has never been my strongest language.

"Aunt Alice!" I whispered. "Please don't be looking for any wedding details right now. Seth has Jaylen here to meet everyone!" Her eyes were twice the normal size when I told her this. "Already?! I thought she wouldn't be here tell later today while we were gone shopping!" I started to ask her how she knew we were going shopping but stopped myself as I answered the question myself: Physic.

"Well, she's here now! So close that out! With Seth as oblivious as he is right now, he could lead her right in here now without even realizing what he was doing!" I grabbed the mouse from her hand and quickly closed the windows.

"So can you be ready to leave in about an hour?" she nodded, before jumping up and heading for the living room, obviously to meet Jaylen. Since Aunt Alice cannot remember much about her life as a human, meeting humans always fascinates her, giving her a chance to learn something new about them.

I decided to go find Jacob and let him in on my plans. I already knew he would not be up for a day of shopping with Aunt Alice, so I chose to not even ask him to go. As I reached his door, I walked inside to find him still in bed. "You know, you sleep way to long! It's passed time to get up!" I said as I sat down beside him on the bed, his back to me. He rolled over to face me, giving me a smile. "And this is coming from someone who slept yesterday away!" To that, I had no comeback. It was true; I had slept the entire day. "Yeah? Well, still. You have got to get up!" I said as I leaned down to kiss him.

"I just came in to let you know I'm going shopping with Leah and Aunt Alice. Oh yeah, and Jaylen is downstairs. She seems nice; shy…but nice." he groaned. "Jacob, you have got to get over the fact that she is a human. Seth has no control over who he imprints on, so don't blame him."

"I know that, and I don't blame him; I just have to get passed the fact that I may be his Alpha as far as the pack is concerned, but his heart…I have no control over that. I'm just so used to him coming to me with everything first and… I don't know… I guess I just got used to that."

"Are you afraid you're going to lose him as part of the pack? That he would want to leave with Jaylen and pretend to be a human; that way he can grow old if he stops fazing?"

Jacob sat up and looked at me. He nodded. "Crazy, aren't I? And I hate that I feel that way!"

"Jacob, it's not you're fault that you feel like that. You only want what's best for Seth, I know that. You just have to find a better way of showing him that instead of fazing and running off. That isn't always the answer, Jacob."

"It just seemed like that the bet option at the time, I guess." he smiled "But, yeah, I know. I'm just going to have to except whatever his decision is."

"Exactly. But seriously, Jacob, don't worry about that now. Wait till the time comes to think about that. Now, like I said, I'm, going shopping with Aunt Alice, or yet Alice around Jaylen," I laughed "and Leah. I'll see you when we get back."

I smiled and leaned down to kiss him softly before walking out to find Aunt Alice and Leah.


	21. Shopping with Aunt Alice

Chapter Twenty-One

Aunt Rose decided before we left that she wanted to go shopping with us. When Leah and I walked outside to find them, we saw them in the garage arguing.

"I want to take my car! It's a lot faster, so we'll get there sooner!" we heard Aunt Rose yell.

"Rose, we are going to be in the middle of a million humans! Speed really doesn't matter in a big city like Seattle!" Aunt Alice replied.

"Alice, I'm taking my car!" Aunt Rose yelled back. At the point, I decided to intervene; if I didn't, we would probably have a few hundred less trees in Seattle. When Aunt Rose and Aunt Alice fight…they fight!

"Aunt Alice, who is going to win this?" I said.

"Me, of course!" she grinned. Aunt Rose rolled her eyes as she climbed into the passenger seat of Aunt Alice's Porsche.

I shook my head and grinned as I climbed into the back with Leah.

On the way to the mall, we decided to continue discussing the wedding and make a few more decisions.

As she began to talk, Aunt Alice flipped the radio to my favorite station. I noticed immediately that my favorite song was playing, and without even realizing it, I began to sing along.

"I can feel you all around me, thickening the air I'm breathing, holding on to what I'm feeling, savoring this—"

"Renesmee, have you even heard a word I'm saying to you?!" Aunt Alice yelled over the music.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Aunt Alice." I blushed as I smiled weakly.

She simply rolled her eyes as she continued talking. "So, as I was saying, you have Leah as your maid-of-honor. And have you asked Jacob about the Best Man?"

I shook my head. I had completely forgotten to even ask him! With everything happening so fast, and my problems with Dad, I hadn't even thought about it.

"Nessie, we have to know soon!"

"Aunt Alice, the wedding is still 11 months away! We have plenty of time!" I said.

"Plenty of time? Plenty of time?! Are you insane, Ness? I haven't even realized it was that close! Now you really need to find out! SOON!"

"Okay, okay, I will!" I laughed.

"So anyway, what about bridesmaids. Any ideas on who they will be?" she said, glancing at me hopeful.

I laughed "Well of course that's you and Aunt Rose! Who else?"

"Really? Really Nessie? Oh, thank you, Nessie!" she reached back and threw her arms around me.

"ALICE! THE ROAD!" Leah screamed.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." she said, swiftly turning back to the wheel. She gave Leah a sheepish grin in the rear view mirror, to which Leah only glared back.

Once we reached the mall, Aunt Alice ran inside. It seriously looked like a kid outside Toys-R-Us. Typical Alice.

We finally talked her out of doing any shopping for the wedding right now, but it took a lot of convincing. "But it's only 11 months away! We needed to order flowers, find a dress, order a cake, well I get Esme could do that—"

"Alice, calm down!" we all yelled at once.

"But, Nessie! We won't have everything ready and I want everything perfect for you and Jacob and if anything goes wrong I—"

"Aunt Alice, chill out okay?" I laughed "Everything will turn out just fine! Today, let's just relax and have fun."

"Fine! But if we happen to find something today, you have to promise me we can at least look!" Our chances of that happening were slim, so we agreed.

We decided to start first with some more majors stores before hitting the smaller shops; Coach, Louis Vouiton, Prada, Gucci and BCBGMAX being our main targets.

It's a good thing Aunt Alice's black AmEx has no limit. In every store she insisted she buy each of us at least three outfits. I definitely did not complain about her charity.

After about four hours, they suddenly remembered Leah and I had not eaten that day.

We stopped at the food court to grab a couple burgers. As we ate, the other two became antsy.

"Are you almost done?" "I know I don't eat, but it seriously can't take that long!" "How much longer?" were only a few of their million questions; all within the first five minutes of sitting down.

After we finished (we started taking even smaller bites and eating fries one at a time, dipping each bite in ketchup, just to see how uptight that could get. That wasn't a good idea.), we shopped at some of the smaller stores: American Eagle, Hollister, Aeropostale, and Hot Topic being in the mix.

A total of seven hours was spent in the mall alone; at least, after seven hours I stopped looking at my phone or watch to check the time. It only passed slower when I did that.

Once we finally left, (or actually once we were kicked out, We were in the mall a hour after closing before they found us and insisted we check out now.), we decided to head home, after a quick stop at Starbuck's for Leah and I.

Tired was not even a word to describe exactly how I felt. I was on the bridge of delusional from sleep deprivation.

I remember climbing to the top of the stairs and seeing Jacob. I gave him a kiss, but I think I actually fell asleep in the middle of it, because I don't remember ever pulling away. When I woke up, we were both laying in my bed. Not long after that, I fell back into a deep, deep sleep. Completely exhausted.


	22. Sad Ending To A Happy Song

Chapter Twenty-Two

When I woke up the next day, I realized Jacob was still beside me. I half-smiled sadly as I thought of how he must have felt when I had fell asleep right at the top of the stairs. I would have to apologize and make it up to him.

It was Tuesday, and we had been in Seattle for a week now; yet somehow, it seems like so much longer. Some much has happened during that time: I started dating Jacob, confronted my dad, twice, and now I'm engaged! I know that seems like a lot to happen in only a week, but you have to remember that this is not a normal family that I'm part of.

My back was against Jacob's chest, so I rolled over to face him. He was already awake, but had remained quiet this whole time.

"Sleep well?" he said, giving me a very dashing smile. Yes, dashing. I know that sounds a little old-school but there is not another word to describe it.

I gave him my best impression of his smile. I don't think I did a very good job, though. My face felt contorted and weird. I probably looked as ridiculous as I felt too.

"Great! Oh, Jake I'm sorry about last night! I did not mean to fall asleep like that! The kiss was great; actually it was amazing, so it had nothing to do with you! I was just tired from—"

"Don't worry about it!" he laughed "It's okay! I can understand that you were probably tired after an entire day shopping with Alice." He closed his eyes and shivered.

I giggled as I pictured him shopping with us:

"Come on, Jacob! It would look ah-mazing on you! Just try it on!" that was Alice.

"No! I would look like an idiot in that! Besides, it's unpractical for me!" he said as he stared at the white suit Aunt Alice was holding. She had paired it with a light pink dress shirt and Sperry's.

"You know how much I phase! I would rip it to pieces!" he whisper-shouted.

Aunt Alice only rolled her eyes. "First of all, this is _completely_ practical! You don't have any suits for special occasions we may have to attend! And second, just don't phase while you're wearing it! Duh!" she grinned "See? Problem solved!"

He shook his head and closed his eyes as the scene ended in my head.

"Ness? Nessie! Are you there?" Jacob said through my laughing. "What's so funny?"

I almost couldn't answer him through my snorts.

"N—noth—nothing. Nothing at all." I said as I tried to calm down.

He gave me strange look, as if I had just told him I had decided to run for President.

"Okay?"

I leaned over to kiss him. That changed his crazy expression, which is just what I had set out to do.

"Am I starting to make up for last night?" I grinned.

He looked up, as if contemplating his answer. "It's a start, but you have a long way to go!" he said before leaning over and kissing me again.

This kiss was the kind that I loved. That I constantly yearned for. It felt as if the whole world was at my fingertips, yet I was far away from anything that could take me away from him at that moment.

I slowly, reluctantly pulled away. "We really need to get up."

"Do we really? Can't we just stay here all day?" he said playfully.

"No, Jacob. I wish we could too put that's kind of impossible." I laughed.

He gave me a smug smile as I laughed and kissed him again before sitting up in bed.

I had just now noticed that the radio on my nightstand was on. It was playing the song "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS. I had to say, it was the perfect song choice for Jacob and I.

As I was listening, I suddenly remembered the movie Dirty Dancing. Baby's father didn't want her and Johnny together, but she continued to do what he heart told her to do. In the end, he accepted that Johnny was who Baby truly wanted to be with. I hoped that would happen for me.

I glanced over at the radio with a smile as the song changed to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Muse. It only continued to get better from there.

These were the perfect songs to help me wake up. They made my love for Jacob grow deeper each time I heard them. I know crazy isn't it? How can a song do that for me? I don't know the answer to that question. It just seems to happen that way.

I unwillingly climbed out from under the covers. Before I could barely stand, Jacob was pulling me back down with him. I giggled and we rolled around, him holding me closely against his chest. I loved this. The idea of being this close to him was intoxicatingly irresistible.

I finally struggled from his grasp and skipped over to my closet, feeling even more awake and exuberant that before.

I saw as I walked in that Jacob must have carried in my bags from last night. All twenty of them, yes twenty, were sitting in a perfect row in the back of the room. I ran over to them and dug into the BCBG bag to find the tee I had bought, and then reached into the Buckle bag to grab my new jeans. I threw both on quickly and walked back to Jacob.

When I walked in, Jacob had already left. He had probably gone to his room to change as well. I shrugged as I turned back into the closet to sit at my makeup table.

As I looked at my reflection, my face was more radiant and flushed than usual. He had that effect on me.

I had just started applying my blush when I heard a knock at my door. Wondering why Jacob would knock, I sauntered out to the door.

Only, it wasn't Jacob.

Nahuel was now standing in the doorway. "Hey, Nessie!" he said when I had opened the door and let him inside my room.

"Nahuel, what's up?" I had no idea what he would want to talk to me about this early. I was sure it could have waited till I had come downstairs.

His expression suddenly turned serious, so I knew this couldn't be good.

"Ness, I've been thinking recently and while your Grandfather has been here, I have been discussing some thinks with him. Now I know what you're thinking and please don't overreact. I only want to talk about it once more to make sure that you are completely sure that this is what you want to do since you are now engaged to Jacob."

I had decided to forgive and forget about how idiotic he had acted last time. Now he's decided he wants to ruin every part of out friendship that we had only just rebuilt?

I had no idea what to say to him. Yes, Nahuel we can discuss this calmly and rationally? Is that what he expected from me? The heck with that! He most definitely was not going to get that response!

"Nahuel, we have talked about this over and over and over again! Can't you just realized and except the fact that I'm marrying Jacob and there is _never_ going to be anything between you and I?"

"Reneesme! Are you willing to take the chances that you will be taking with Jacob? Are you willing to possibly hurt him in some way?"

"I would never hurt Jacob! I love hi—"

"Not that way. I mean truly physically hurt Jacob! You are taking some very immense chances! Are you willing to do that to him?"

He had rendered me speechless.

Was what he was saying true? Could I really hurt Jacob like that?

Was I really placing a gamble on his life?

"Nahuel, did grandpa tell you this? Or are you making this up as a ruse like before? Because if you are, it's not going to work! I have made my decision! I love Jac—"

"Yet why do you feel the way you do about me? I know you love me, Ness! We have a special connection! Do you know who it was that came in to your room those nights? Who helped you after the break-up? You put you to bed when you could barely make sense of things after the fight with Edward? That was me! Me, Nessie! I did that! And you fell right to me each time! Without a fight! Can't you just see that we are meant to be together?"

He swiftly lowered his head and let his lips meet mine.

This time, there were no feelings on my side. Not like before. I struggled to pull him away, pushing at his shoulders, but he only tightened his grip.

I suddenly heard my door slam against the wall. I jumped and Nahuel quickly pulled away. I ran to the door, just in time to see Jacob running down the stairs and out the door.


	23. My Missing Half

Chapter Twenty-Three

It's amazing how your whole world can come crashing down in a matter of seconds. I had no idea what to say to Jacob. Would he believe that I had nothing to do with the kiss? That there was no affection in that kiss from me?

I ran down the stairs as fast as I could, yet it was not fast enough to catch Jacob. Once I reached the door, I could see the trees swaying from where he had ran between them; his clothes were laying at the opening to the woods. He had phased.

"Jacob!" I ran through the woods, passing trees and shrubs that tore at my skin. Because I'm half vampire, I don't feel the pain, but my human side still makes it possible for that to happen. I continued to trip over fallen limps and tree trunks as I ran, tears slipping down my cheeks.

"Jacob, come back! It's not what you think! _He _kissed _me_! I had nothing to do with it! Please, Jacob! I love you!" after screaming and calling his name for what seemed like hours, I could no longer form my words. He was gone. But he didn't understand. I loved him; more than anything! The strong connection we have is undeniable. We can basically tell what the other is thinking when we are together. How could he leave without letting me explain? Doesn't he love me enough for at least that?

I finally could no longer run; using my vampire speed tires me out. I had been running and calling his name for hours now. He was nowhere near here. I fell to the ground, pulled my legs against my chest and rested my head on my knees. How could this happen? Only a few hours ago, everything was perfect. We were together. We were getting married. We felt as if nothing could tear us apart again.

What would I do next? Continue to run, not knowing where to run to? Go home and wait till he comes back? Or sit here and continue to cry, hoping for a miracle to happen? I chose the latter of the three. I couldn't run because I couldn't move. I couldn't go home because I couldn't wait. This was my best option.

I lay down over onto the mossy patch under the trees. I could no longer feel anything. Physical or emotion. I was completely numb. My source of life had completely disappeared; I had no idea when it would return.

I must have fell asleep because the next thing I remember is waking up and I was moving. I wasn't moving my legs, so I soon discovered someone was carrying me, but we were only moving at human speed. I forced my eyes to open and I looked into the golden eyes of my dad. He was whispering softly to someone walking beside him. I glanced over a saw that Grandpa Carlisle was with him.

"Can you hear him, Edward? Do you have any idea where he could be?"

"No, he's already too far away. I could hear him earlier and that's how I found out what happened. But now I can't. He has run too far out."

"Well, continue to try. Do you see what she looks like? It will kill her if he doesn't come back."

Dad paused a few moments before responding. "I know. I tried so hard to make things not happen; but now that I have that, I feel horrible. What will I say to her when she wakes up?"

"I don't know, son. She's your daughter. You know her better than anyone. She is just like you. What would you want to hear?"

"I don't know. It was always me doing the running away. Not I being ran away from."

He must have read my thoughts and realized that I was awake. He looked down at me. I could tell this was hurting him. Seeing his only daughter feeling so much pain.

"Dad, I'm sor—"

"Not now, Nessie. Sleep. We can talk later, I promise."

I nodded. I would not be able to fight it. My weariness was consuming me, pulling me deeper into slumber.

As I slept, I began to dream. Of what my life should be like. Of the life I longed for.

_Jacob and I were sitting in a living room. I did not recognize it. It must be ours. Ours. Our own home. We were married. We were smiling affectionately at each other and reminiscing about happy times. Then a little girl ran into the room and jumped between us. She was holding a folded piece of paper in one hand._

"_Hey, Mommy! Hi, Daddy! I finished my painting for you!" she handed me the paper. When I opened it, I saw she had drawn a forest. Down the middle was a line, yet the middle of the line was erased. On one side stood a man, on the other a woman. In the center where the line was erased, stood a little girl. _

"_I love it sweetie! Who is this?" she looked at me and rolled her eyes, as if I should already know the answer._

"_That's us, silly! There's Daddy on one side of the line and you on the other. I'm in the middle 'cause I'm the one that officially broke the line between werewolves and vampires! Duh!" _

"_Oh, really? Sweetheart! I love it!" I laughed._

_She smiled at both of us, looking proud. "Great! Can I run and show it to Grandpa Edward and Grandma Bella?"_

"_Sure, honey. But hurry back soon!"_

_The dream ended as she jumped off the couch and raced out the door._

When I woke up, I was laying on the couch, Uncle Emmett at my feet. He looked over and smiled at me.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Not much." I said as I sat up and curled under his arms. "Where is everyone at?"

"In the kitchen. They're having a meeting. Are you sure you've slept enough? You're not tired?" he looked at me with concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine. I've been sleeping for what seems like eternity. What are they meeting about? And why aren't you in there with them?"

"They're talking about what happened. I was given baby-sitting duty till it's over. I tend to get stuck with that job a lot. But good thing about you is, you're clumsy but nothing like your mom was. It was ridiculous! Every time Edward had to go hunting and Alice went with him or wasn't around, guess who got stuck with Bella?" he pointed to himself, laughing. "Me. And was it ever a big job! I always thought I could handle anything! But your mom, she was a handle full! I'm glad she can take care of herself now. And I'm also glad you're not that bad!"

"It couldn't have been that bad, now could it, Uncle Emmett?" I raised my eyebrows as I laughed.

"You didn't know your mother then." he blow out and made the movement as if wiping sweat from his forehead.

I glanced back over to the kitchen, trying to listen. They must know that I'm awake now because they are all talking quietly. I strained hard to listen, but it was no use.

What was I going to do? Jacob was gone. I had no idea where he was. And wherever he was, part of me was with him. I felt like I was torn down the middle. I might never be put together again.

I impulsively made a decision. I was going to find him, no matter what it took. I had to be with Jacob. If he wouldn't take me back, he would at least listen to me. I would get my chance to explain.

"What?!" yelled Aunt Alice from the kitchen. "Oh, no you're not!" She was now running in to the living room where I was. I had forgotten about the physic thing. She already knew my plan.


	24. Decisions

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Reneesme Carlie Cullen! Have you lost your mind?!" Alice and Dad stormed into the living room. Everyone else was following, looking confused. I stood and met them halfway across the room.

"Maybe I have! Maybe that's part of me that seems to be missing right now! Do you seriously expect me to just sit around here and do nothing or just simply forget him? If you think so, you are completely insane!"

My mom came from the back of the group behind them. "Okay, everyone let's just calm down." she stood between me, and Alice and Dad. "Now, Nessie will you tell me what is going on? Alice had a vision, and the next thing, ran out of the room, not even stopping to explain."

"Mom, I've decided to go after him. I can't take this! I love him, Mom! You can't expect me to just sitting around, waiting for him to come back. What if he never comes back? What if I could possibly prevent both of us from having this hurt for the rest of our lives? I have to at least try to find him!"

My mom looked into my eyes; when she does this, I feel that she can see straight into me and can understand everything that's going on in my head. She gave me a small smile.

"And I wouldn't expect you to just sit around waiting. I can understand that you want to go after him. To tell him that he's a completely idiot for not giving you a chance to even talk about this, but rather just running off somewhere." she gave my dad a knowing look, at which he coward, lowering his head. "But I only wish that you would do one thing, for me. Just so I know you're not just making a rash decision and that this is what you want to do. Can you wait till tomorrow or the next day to leave? I want you to give yourself time to think and maybe plan what you want to do."

"That sounds reasonable. Yeah I will." I hugged her tightly. She seemed to always have the answers lately.

Dad lifted his head, looking at Mom as if she was insane. "Bella, are you crazy? You seriously think that she needs to go after him? It was his fault! He's the one that ran! Why should she have to follow him?"

"Edward, I see you're finally seeing the other side of the story now! What do you think would have happened to us had I not come after you in Volterra? Would you still be alive? Would we be together? Would we be having this conversation? With our daughter? I think not! Reneesme is more like me than I ever realized. She fights for what she loves! Whether it be vampire or werewolf!"

I could tell he was still seething, but she seems to have a bit of control over him. Mom then turns back to me.

"Oh and one last thing. Take someone with you. I just don't feel right about letting you go off alone when you don't even know where you're planning to go."

I had no idea what to say to that one. Who would want to go with me, searching for my MIA fiancée? I looked around till my eyes met Leah's. She grinned.

"Feel up to a rode trip, Lee?" I pleaded with my eyes. She was the best choice.

"I guess so." she laughed.

Nahuel suddenly appeared beside me. "I'll be going, too. I just wouldn't feel right about the two of you going off without a male with you."

"And you think you are the logical choice? You're the reason we have to do this! If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess! But no, you had to kiss me! You had to try it again, even after I said no, that we had no chance!"

He closed his eyes before speaking. "Nessie, listen. I know—"

"You know nothing! If you did, you would have _known _to not do that! You would have _known_ that I don't want to be with you! Actually, you did know that! You just chose to ignore it! To try to force me into it!"

"Nessie, if you would just listen I'm trying to tell you that I'm sorry!"

"Sorry? No, sorry doesn't cut it! More like idiotic, insane, a complete moron! And apology _NOT_ accepted." With that, I ran out of the room, up the stairs to my bedroom with Leah not far behind me.

Once we were in my room, I closed the door and sat down by Leah on the loveseat. As soon as I sat down, I remembered all the times me and Jacob had sat here. Everything that had happened on this couch, good and bad. I tried my best to not let the tears start to fall again. I had thought that I had no more tears to cry. I was wrong.

"Leah, what am I going to do? I have no idea where he is or where he could possibly be! And once I do find him or if I even can find him, what am I going to say? What will convince him that I truly do love him? Leah, I—"

"First of all, you're going to calm down. You can't think clearly unless you breathe! You have to breathe, Nessie. Now, are there any places that he likes to go a lot? Like when he needs to think?"

I thought back to all the conversation Jacob and I had had over the years, trying to find something that would stick out. Nothing came to mind.

I suddenly had a brainstorm.

"Leah! First Beach! He has to be at First Beach! That's his favorite place to go to think, to clear his head. I can remember now him telling me many stories about times he's had there. We have to go back to Forks! And it has to be tonight!"

"Wait. Whoa. Hold on! You promised your mom you would stay at least until tomorrow! You can't just go running out there looking for him the first place that comes to mind!"

"Mom said to wait till I've thought everything through and decided if I really want to do this and I have. And besides, how else do you expect to find him other than just randomly picking places he loves?"

Leah closed her eyes and shook her head. I had won and she had given up.

"Fine, but I think I might agree that Nahuel has to come with us."

"What?!"


	25. First Beach

Chapter Twenty-Five

That night I walked outside, suitcase in hand, to meet Leah and Nahuel. She had finally convinced me that it would be best to let him come with us. It took a lot of talking on her part, but I finally agreed.

I knew that this was what I had to do. It was now or never. I loved Jacob. If I wanted to be with him, I was going to have to do whatever it took to get him back.

I walked over to the garage. We had agreed to take Nahuel's car because it was the fastest of his and Leah's. I sat my suitcase down at the rear of the car and walked over to where Jacob's Rabbit was parked. I smiled as I remembered the first time I had road in it:

"Ready, Nessie?" Jacob called from downstairs. We were still in Forks at the time. I had stayed at Grandmee's the night before. I think I was about five physically.

"Almost! Don't leave me, Jakey! You promise you won't leave?" I ran to the top of the stairs to make sure he was still there.

"Don't worry, I won't leave without you. This is all for you anyway, remember?" he laughed. I had been dying for him to take me to see Leah and the rest of the pack for some time. It had also been a while since I had seen Claire; we loved to play together.

I grinned down at him before running back into my room to find my shoes.

Once I was ready, we raced outside to where his car was parked and he helped me in. This was the first time I had rode with him. Dad had been protective over me and still did not like the idea about the imprinting, but Mom had convinced him to let Jacob take me that day.

The whole time while we were riding, I was asking questions about how his car worked. The wheels in my head were always turning when I was with him. I wanted to be able to do everything he did, just like him. He explained how a few years ago he had built the car himself, and I was in complete amazement as he told me the stories.

Back in the garage, I laughed aloud as I suddenly remembered the summer he taught me how to drive:

We had driven to the Quileute reservation and stopped on a dirt road Jacob said he used to ride his motorcycle down. He turned off the engine and we traded seats so that I was on the driver's side.

"Okay, Nessie, turn the ignition on. Now push down on the brake and shift into drive. Okay, now push off on to the road."

I followed his instructions and started to drive. I had just about pulled completely onto the road when Jacob yelled. "Nessie! Wait!"

"What is it, Jake? What happened?" he had scared me half to the death, if that was possible.

"You didn't look both ways before pulling out! Now what if someone was riding down this road? You could have hit them!"

"Jake, there is absolutely no one on this road! It is completely deserted! No people, no cars, not even a turtle or a squirrel!"

"Still you should have looked." he mumbled.

"Are you going to let me drive or not?"

He simply stared at me as I sarcastically looked both ways and pulled out onto the road.

He continued to critique everything I did the entire day. I was on edge with him by the time we finally made it home.

I would never lose those memories; they were some of my favorites.

I turned around when I heard someone walk into the garage.

"Ready, Nessie?" Nahuel said as he loaded my suitcase and the others he was carrying into the car. I nodded.

I climbed into the passenger seat while we waited for Leah.

He turned to me as he sat down beside me in the driver's seat. "Ness, are you sure this is what you want? You know I love you and I only want you to be happy, even if that means you being with Jacob and not me."

I nodded again. "This is what I want. I love him, Nahuel. He means everything to me!" I said as Leah crawled in the back seat.

"Okay! Let's go find us a wolf!" She said as she slid into the middle.

***************************

We had left Seattle at 4:30 that morning. The drive to Forks should have only taken us a few minutes, a drive that would have taken a human two hours.

We had decided to drive a normal speed so that we had time to instigate a plan of what I was to say to Jacob.

Leah and I talked about the speech I would try to give him. It was hard to get any ideas with the reason for the problem sitting in the vehicle and driving us to Jacob. After the first hour, I fell asleep mid-sentence. I was extremely tired. I had not gone to sleep the night before; I had been afraid I would not wake up in time.

When I woke up, we were driving on Main Street and the Quileute reservation was 15 minutes outside of town. Leah had not eaten before we left, so we stopped to have breakfast at a diner my mom and Grandpa Charlie loved. As I ate my pancakes, I tried to work out all different aspects of how to get to Jacob. Would I talk Billy first to see if he had been home, and if so, had he talked to him about us? Should I go straight to First Beach and—? I had no idea what I would do. I knew what I had to say, but no ideas on how to say it.

After paying the waitress, we went back to the car and headed to the reservation. We

drove straight to First Beach. As we pulled up, we saw no vehicles or wolf prints. I told

them to stay in the car; it would be hard to talk to him alone much less with a crowd around us. As I shut the door, I took a deep breath and exhaled to calm my nerves.

I walked out on to the beach and slipped off my flip-flops. I had always loved the feel of the sand; I didn't know when I would get to see this beach again. As I walked along the beach searching for Jacob, I looked down to notice the faint indentions of paw prints. I bent down to examine them and was relieved to see that they were wolf prints.

"He's been here!" I whispered to myself. I stood up and looked around; I could see nothing but beach.

I started to yell him name, but received no response.

I followed the prints as they lead me down the beach and back again as if he had been pacing. I then noticed as the wolf prints faded, that they slowly turned into human footprints that lead me back to the road at which they ended when I reached the gravel.

I ran back to the car, yelling the entire way. "He's been here! He's here in Forks!"


	26. Visiting Emily

Chapter Twenty-Six

As I reached the parking lot, I noticed Leah and Nahuel were already out and running to meet me halfway. Leah was the first to meet me and automatically started asking questions.

"He's here? Where? I don't see him!" she said as she frantically looked across the beach behind me.

"No, Leah. He's not at the beach, but he's here in Forks, I just know it! I was walking down the beach and I noticed some prints and realized they were wolf prints! As I followed them, hoping to find him, I saw they turned into human footprints.

"Both sets of prints were pacing on the beach till the footprints turned and headed back here to the parking lot. That's were I lost them." I closed my eyes and lowered my head while rubbing my temples, trying to think.

If Jacob was in Forks, he would probably be at his house. But what if he decided he would do patrol today to give the guys a rest? May he was with Sam? Embry? Quil? There were so many places to choose from that Jacob could possibly be.

As I turned and walked back to the car, Leah and Nahuel in my wake, I decided to try Sam first. Maybe he went to Sam's to talk things out. After Jacob and Sam had reconciled their differences, they grew closer before we left Forks for Seattle.

I climbed back into the front seat and turned to Nahuel as he climbed in the driver's seat.

"Where to?" he asked once we were all in the car.

"Sam's house." I said absent-mindedly.

"Who?" he replied with a confused look. I had forgotten he had never officially met the rest of the old pack.

"You know the big leader guy that I dated." Leah said from the backseat. Nahuel glanced at her in the rearview mirror, mimicking his previous look of confusion.

Leah rolled her eyes. "He was at the big show-down for Nessie when we had all that trouble with the Vol…Voltoros or whatever."

"It's the Volturi, Leah, and no I still don't remember him."

Without a reply, Leah jumped from the backseat and climbed through the middle of the car.

"What the heck do you think you are doing? This is an Italian, special-made! Not some old used Chevy!" Nahuel yelled at her.

"Oh, shut up your whining and get in the backseat. I'll drive." she said as she pushed him out the door.

Mumbling to himself, Nahuel got out and climbed in the back.

"I should no the place better than anyone, I guess." she mumbled under her breath.

As we pulled out of the parking lot, Nahuel continued to shout orders at Leah to be careful with his precious car, at which she paid no attention to and went out of her way to scare him with her driving.

I silently wished that they would quit bickering and just get me to Sam's house. Back to my Jacob. My fiancée. My love. Why did everything have to be so hard? So confusing?

When we finally reached Sam's, Leah had reached her level of patience with Nahuel. She skidded to a stop in front of the house and yanked the car into park. As I got out of the car and ran to the door, I could hear her yelling and slamming her door, along with Nahuel doing the same.

I tried to contain myself as I calmed my emotions before knocking. After a minute or so, the door was opened by Emily greeting me with a smile.

"Renesmee! What an unexpected surprise! Did you come to see your Grandpa?" She said as she moved to the side to let me in.

"No actually I came looking for Jacob. Do you know if he's been here to see Sam?"

She responded by shaking her head. "No, he hasn't. Did he come to Forks with you?"

I let my head fall where my hair covered the sides of my face so that if I cried, she would not see my tears.

"Um, no actually I think he came here yesterday by himself. He never told me where he was going." I guess she could hear the weakness in my voice because I suddenly felt her wrap her arms around me as she led me to the living room.

"Nessie, sweetie, what happened? Tell me everything."

I had never felt a strong connection to Emily, but at the moment, there was no one else I would rather talk to, it seemed. I realized I could no longer let the tears stay locked in my eyes. I could tell the pain was coming through the tears; they had never stung this way before.

"I was standing in my room one night after Jacob had left, talking to Nahuel. After a big fight me and Nahuel had a few summers ago, we had never really liked being around each other. Well, he had come back to Forks just in time to come to Seattle for a visit with my grandparents. The night they got there, we talked and had decided to put our differences aside and we agreed that we would only be friends.

That night after Jacob left, he came to my room. He told me that just being my friend would never work for him and we got into another argument. He then tried to kiss me, to which I did not kiss him back. Just as it happened, Jacob had been walking back to my room and saw it.

Next thing I knew, I was running down the stairs to stop him but once I reached the door, he was gone." I sobbed through my words, drawing in deep breaths after each sentence.

"The expression that I saw on his face for that split second tore me apart." I said.

I leaned over to her and placed my hand on her cheek, showing her exactly what I meant. I knew she could feel the pain that I felt, too. She shivered a little as I showed her the end.

"I tried running after him, but it was no use. I couldn't find him anywhere. I tried calling him, yelling his name, anything, but I had no response. I assumed that if he left Seattle, he would come back to Forks and I left this morning with Leah and Nahuel to come find him. I went first to First Beach, thinking he would be there since it was his favorite place to think.

When I was there, I saw some wolf prints and followed them as they turned into human foot prints, but they faded once they reached gravel."

"Nessie, you forget that a lot of werewolves live around here. It could have been anyone's. Sam's, Embry's, Quil's, or Paul's maybe?"

I shook my head "No, Emily it was Jacob's. I know it was his! I can spot his anywhere! His paw prints are distinctive to me."

Emily reached over to the coffee table and grabbed a tissue to hand me. I thanked her with a smile and accepted it.

"So, after leaving the beach, I started to think of all the places that Jacob could possibly be or that he would go. I remembered that he and Sam used to hang here sometimes before we left, so I thought maybe he would talk to Sam about everything that has been going on. Maybe not, though."

"I really am sorry that he isn't here, Nessie. Have you talked to Billy yet? He might have gone by to see him."

"No, not yet, but that's my next stop." I said as I stood to leave. "Thanks, though. I guess I really needed someone to talk to."

Emily smiled sweetly as she opened the door for me.

As I turned towards the car, I realized that Leah and Nahuel were on opposite sides of the front yard. Every few seconds one would look in the others direction and give an evil look that I would never mirror.

Finally Leah saw me and ran over.

"Hey, any news?"

I shook my head. "They haven't seen him."

Leah's expression was one of concern now.

"I tried fazing to see if I could hear him, but I couldn't hear anything. He's finally mastered how to block out his thoughts from me. Yet even if I could hear him, I wouldn't be able to tell where he was and I'm sure he wouldn't tell me. Seth tried too right before we left. That's what took me so long this morning. No luck there, either."

"Thanks for trying anyway, Leah." I gave her the best smile I could gather.

"So what happened? Are you too still mad at each other?"

Her expression once again changed to a look of revulsion. I knew this couldn't be good.

"Don't even ask what is going through my mind right now about him." Leah said as we headed back to the car where we met Nahuel.

This was definitely going to be an adventure.


	27. Special Kind of Love

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Where to next?" Nahuel said as we reached the car.

"Billy's, but I'm driving." I said.

Leah tossed me the keys as she climbed in the passenger seat.

Nahuel was angered even more by this, but said nothing.

I needed something to take my mind off the pain and help me focus on the mission at hand. I know it technically is all the same thing, but it doesn't hurt as much when think about it differently. I wonder how Jacob is taking it? I still can't understand how he could do this. Just the imprinting itself has to make all this hard for him.

As I drove, I tried to think of what to say to Billy. I couldn't do the same thing with Billy as I had Emily. First, I don't think crying with Billy would be such a good idea. He's male and he probably doesn't understand the emotional side of this as well as Emily could. And second, I don't know how well he would take to me "showing" him what happened. He doesn't care to see Aunt Alice, Dad, and I use our powers that much.

I was still at a lost when I pulled in the driveway.

When I parked, Leah and Nahuel immediately got out of the car and swiftly walked to opposite sides of the yard as before. I rolled my eyes. I had chosen two of the most childish people to come with me.

I jogged over to the steps and stopped. This was the first time I had seen or even talked to Billy since we had left. Did he know that Jacob and I were engaged? Did he even know we were together? Billy had not been one that liked mixing with vampires. He was better than he was before, but still it was a sore spot for him.

I finally got the courage to press on and walked over the door and knocked. I could hear Billy's wheel squeak on the other side of the door.

"Who is it?" he said. I could tell that he was right behind that door.

"It's me, Nessie."

Billy opened the door as fast as his wheelchair would let him.

"Nessie, sweetheart! Long time, no see! What are you doing in La Push? In Forks, even? Visiting Ole' Charlie, I'm guessing?"

"Um, not exactly." I said as he moved over to let me in.

I leaned down and hugged him before passing into the living room.

"Well, then to what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"

How could I respond to that question? Um, well Billy your son ran off because he caught me cheating on him. Only I wasn't cheating, he only thought I was. I really had nothing to do with it. It was all the other guy's fault. Na, I don't think that would work.

"I guess I should start at the beginning. Did you know that Jacob and I were together?"

"He's here? He came with you? Well, where is that son of mine, then?"

This was going to be a little harder than I thought.

"Billy, I mean that we are together, as in dating. Actually," I raised my head to meet his eyes. "Actually we're engaged."

"Engaged? Wow! Well, congratulations to the both of you, then! But where is Jake? I figured he would want to be here too when you told me. I did raise the kid."

"That's kind of what I'm here to talk to you about." I said, lowering my head again.

"If you're worried that I don't approve of this marriage because of you being a vampire, don't worry your pretty little head about that. You are who Jake imprinted on, and I've finally come to terms with it. I knew that this day would come, so I prepared myself."

I smiled softly. "Thank you, Billy. And I'm glad you told me that. But that's not what I mean, either. You see, Jacob's missing."

His expression then changed to one of concern and confusion.

"Missing? What do you mean missing? What happened?"

I scooted to the end of the couch so that I could reach him better.

"It would be easier if you would let me show you what exactly happened. I know you don't really like to see us using our gifts, but just the once?"

He nodded his head. "Okay, Nessie. Show me."

I placed one hand on each of his cheeks.

I replayed to him what happened from when Nahuel knocked on the door. I could tell he was not enjoying this by the expressions that seemed to continually fill his face.

The last scene I showed him was me running into the woods, calling for Jacob.

I slowly pulled my hand away. I wouldn't show him the last part. I was sure he could tell how much this already pained me.

"Wow," he said, after pausing to process everything I had showed him. "I understand. And you came here, thinking he would come home, right?"

I nodded. "I came back to La Push because I knew Jacob always went to First Beach when things got rough with the pack and he needed to think. I can tell he has been there, but he had already left by the time I got there.

I've already been to Sam's, too. I know how close they were right before we left, so I thought maybe we would talk to him about all this. Maybe not, though. Then I decided to see if maybe he came by here to see you. And I'm guessing no luck here either?"

Billy shook his head. "I'm sorry, Nessie. I haven't seen him since you left Forks."

I put head in my hands, resting my elbows on my knees. "I just feel like I don't know Jake at all now! I can't think of anywhere else he would ever go to or be at! I love him more than anything, but is that enough reason for us to be together?"

"If I know Jacob, and I believe that I know him about as well as you do, maybe a little better since I've known him his whole life and I know his ways, he will find his way back to you. He has my determination and pride, but yet, he also has his mother's heart and spirit.

When he falls in love, that love is strong. And the imprinting only makes that love stronger and deeper than any other love. Your parents love each other, your uncles and aunts love each other, your grandparents love each other, and I loved my wife dearly. But you and Jacob, you two have a special kind of love. The first time he held you in his arms, he knew that you were made to be there. My wife has passed on and the others I mention, they are no longer aging. They will forever be the age they are now.

You two are still young. You still have many years for your love to grow. Your love is also the first of its kind. We all knew, deep, down, that one day, great things would come from that love, too.

It doesn't matter if you are married, dating, by each others side, or not. You still love him…. and he still loves you, no matter what. And nothing, not even this, can change that."

I continued to think about his words as I stood to leave and walked to the door with Billy following behind.

Is it really possible that Jacob is out there somewhere and still loves me? Could we truly be together again? My heart swelled with joy as I thought of this.

I hugged Billy before turning to go. "I really hope you find him. And if he happens to come here, you will be the first person I call, that is, after I kill him. I'm sure you would like knowing the funeral arrangements." Billy chuckled.

I smiled. "Thanks, Billy. For everything." I leaned down to hug him once more and kissed him on the cheek.

He then turned and rolled back inside, shutting the door.

As I walked down the steps, I started trying to think like Jacob.

I'm upset with Nessie, so where should I go?

I walked towards the car and could see that Nahuel and Leah were still mad.

As I glanced at each of them, rolling my eyes, I got back in the car, this time on the passenger side.

Leah and Nahuel came once they saw me, Nahuel jumping in the front seat, and Leah climbing in back.

"Any ideas?" Nahuel said as we pulled away.

I shook my head. "Billy hasn't seen him. Just head towards town for right now. I just have to think."

I continued to ponder everything Billy had told me.

"_When he falls in love, that love is strong. And the imprinting only makes that love stronger and deeper than any other love..... You and Jacob, you two have a special kind of love. The first time he held you in his arms, he knew that you were made to be there."_

Something about that last part was making a small part of my mind pull towards an answer, I just couldn't completely grasp it.

"_The first time he held you in his arms, you knew you were meant to be there."_

As I continued to pull the answer from my mind, I finally grabbed it.

That's it! That was where Jacob was at, I knew it!

"You guys, I know were he is!" I practically screamed, and Nahuel slammed on brakes.


	28. The Journey to Come

Chapter 28

I could feel the rush, anxiety, and love building up in me as I told Nahuel to head home. Our real home. Right here in Forks.

"Are you sure, Nessie? He never really liked spending time over there, so why do you think he would ever go back?" Nahuel said as he looked at me, concerned.

"Nahuel, I'm positive he's there, just trust me."

Without another word, Nahuel turned down the road leading to home.

As soon as we reached the house, I jumped out without waiting for them and ran, taking the steps two at a time. I had finally made it to Jacob. I could finally see him again and pull him into my arms. We could stay that way forever and never leave for all I cared.

As I raced up the stairs to Grandpa's office, I started to remember that day. It was odd the things that I had seen, considering I was only a few seconds old. I could easily see Jacob's face as he looked down at me, disgusted, but watched as his face began to soften as he walked out of the room with me.

I smiled at the memory of the moment he imprinted on me.

I dashed into the room, continuing to yell his name.

Only there was one thing missing.

Jacob.

He wasn't there. I was so sure that this is where he would be.

I could feel the blood drain from my face as I fell to my knees.

"No. No. No. No. Jacob, you have to be here! You just have to be!" I said as tears began to sting the corners of my eyes.

"Where are you? Why can't I find you? Don't you love me? What happened to forever and always? You and me! Together!"

I could no longer hold in the sob that had been working its way up my throat.

I collapsed into a heap on the floor. What now? Do I go home and forget about him? No that was impossible. I loved Jacob. I could never just simply forget him.

As I looked around the room, wishing I could just die right at that moment, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I suddenly heard a sound, as if someone were whispering.

"Who's there?" I said, beginning to panic. "Jacob, is that you?"

I realized as I continued to slowly gaze around the room that the sound had came from the wind. A window had been cracked slightly, causing a breeze to enter.

The movement I saw came from a piece of paper moving on the floor from the wind.

The paper was folded, and I knew immediately that this was not just one of Grandpa's scraps. The paper was way too thin for that. Grandpa had chosen to have his paper imported from overseas, for a thicker, more professional looking paper.

I reached over, confused, and picked up the paper. The outside had my name scripted on it.

As I unfolded it, I noticed it was a letter.

My Dearest Reneesme,

I knew you would know just exactly where to come look for me. I am truly sorry to have left you without explaining the situation to you. I regret to tell you that I will never see you again. The day that you were born, I mistakenly thought that I had imprinted on you. Having realized this mistake, I know now that the day we went to meet the Volturi, the feeling I had about Jane was real.

During our time together I truly did love you, but nothing can ever overcome the love I still feel for Jane. I've contacted Jane and asked her to meet me here.

Since you are reading this and I did not tell you in person, this is proof that she felt the same way and has already come for me.

I again am sorry for the pain I must be causing you at this moment.

Your Friend,

Jacob

I could not understand the words as I read the letter over and over again.

He left me? For Jane? This has to be a joke. Some sick twisted joke.

"Okay, fun's over, guys. This is horrible you know? You shouldn't kick a person when she's down!" I yelled out the window to Nahuel and Leah.

"What are you talking about Ness?" Leah said as she walked in, Nahuel following behind her.

"How you could you two do this to me? That was just horrible!" I screamed.

"Nessie, what are you talking about?" Leah said calmly.

"The letter, Leah! The letter you two planted up here to make me think Jacob ran off with Jane!" I screamed back.

"First of all, when would we have done that? We've been fighting this whole trip, so when could we have been able to talk to each other long enough to come up with something like that? And second, why do think we could ever hurt you like that? We love you, Nessie! Let me see the letter."

I handed Leah the letter and sat back down on the floor. I didn't even realize until now that I had been in Leah face this whole time.

"Nessie, calm down and read the letter again." Leah said, trying to hand it to me.

"I've read it. I really don't want to read the words again." I said, looking out the window.

"Nessie, think about this, I regret to tell you that I will never see you again? Now does that really sound like Jacob? Honestly? And I again am sorry for the pain I must be causing you at this moment? Jacob is not that sensitive."

I had to hand it to her. She was right, that didn't sound like Jacob at all. I walked back over to them and took the letter.

The longer I stared at it, I realized this wasn't Jacob's handwriting either.

"Guys, Jacob didn't write this. I know his handwriting and this isn't his." I said, worrying building in my voice.

"I was just about to say the same thing." Leah said, staring at the letter.

"I still think Jacob was here, and I think he had a visitor, but I don't think the visitor was invited." I said as the pieces started to come together.

They were still after me. After all these years, they still wanted me. They took away the one thing they knew I would follow after. Jacob.

I could tell Leah was starting to get it too.

"They knew I would figure this out. That's why they worded it this way, adding in Jane for a hint."

Nahuel stood between us, still confused.

"Where to now?" he said, choosing to not ask questions.

"Italy."

Thanks everyone for reading Waning Crescent. I'm considering starting a sequel, but I want to know if anyone is interested in hearing it. Please post a review if you would like to hear the rest of the story!!


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